By Abiola Olawale
A Former presidential candidate of the African Action Congress (AAC) and Publisher of the SaharaReporters, Omoyele Sowore, was among those who protested in Lagos State on Tuesday, October 1, 2024.
The New Diplomat learnt that Sowore arrived at the protest site located at Ikeja Underbridge in the early hours of Tuesday.
The former presidential candidate was seen leading the protest against the economic hardship in the country.
The ongoing protest coincides with Nigeria’s 64th Independence Day. This is the second protest that erupted in Nigeria in just two months
The first was the #EndBadGovernance demonstrations, which were held between August 1 and 10.
The organisers had explained that the protest was a response to the government’s inability to address critical problems, including rising hunger, inflation, security concerns, government inefficiency, electoral reforms, and the call for stronger human capital development.
Many had expressed their dissatisfaction with the economic issues, including soaring inflation and high cost of living.
The removal of fuel subsidies has been attributed to the worsening inflation, according to economic experts.
The National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) reports that the headline inflation rate reached 34.19% in June 2024, up from 33.95% in May 2024.
However, since July, NBS reported a consecutive decline in Nigeria’s inflation rate.
According to a recent report released by the NBS, the inflation rate in August stood at 32.15%, a decline from 33.40% recorded in July and 34.19% recorded in June.
