The ongoing nationwide protest on Monday spread to the Eleme/Onne section of the East-West Road in Rivers State as a large crowd of protesters stormed the popular section connecting the Port Harcourt refineries.
According to reports the Akpajo axis of the East-West Road, up to the entrance leading to Indorama Petrochemicals, was overtaken by angry protesters who disrupted vehicular movement.
The East-West Road is a major route connecting Port Harcourt city to key business facilities like the Onne seaport, Port Harcourt refineries, Indorama Petrochemicals, and more than six Local Government Areas of the state.
The protesters, who carried out their activities peacefully, displayed placards with inscriptions expressing dissatisfaction over the pervasive poverty, hunger, and high cost of food items in the country.
Some of the protesters told newsmen that they were not satisfied with the Federal Government’s appeal to call off the protest.
One of them, Mr Walson Idah, said they chose to spotlight the East-West Road to express their anger “over hunger, poverty, and infrastructure deficit” in the supposedly viable business area.
“We need the government to revive the refineries, which have so many employment and empowerment opportunities for us.
“Despite the huge economic potential in the business area, we are unemployed, hungry, and poor. We are not taking any palliatives from politicians.
“We need jobs, good roads, affordable electricity, and basic infrastructure,” Idah said.
The protesters called on the Federal Government to address the problem of the high cost of staple foods, which they said had gone out of the reach of many families.
They also urged the Federal Government to hold the governors responsible for their alleged failure to implement its policies with the fuel subsidy intervention funds.
