TheCable

Motorcyclists in Cameroon have reportedly protested the removal of the petrol subsidy in Nigeria.

In his inaugural speech, President Bola Tinubu said the petrol subsidy regime was over.

“On fuel subsidy, unfortunately, the budget before I assumed office is that no provision is there for fuel subsidy. So, fuel subsidy is gone,” the president had said.

Following Tinubu’s pronouncement, huge queues resurfaced at filling stations in some parts of Nigeria — a situation the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN) blamed on panic buying.

TheCable observed that the retail price of petrol rose to high levels across the country, reaching a high of N540 per litre in some filling stations since Tinubu’s announcement.

The Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited also announced the adjustment of the pump price across its retail outlets nationwide to accommodate market realities.

In other neighbouring countries, the post-subsidy realities have also set in.

Petrol from Nigeria is alleged to be regularly smuggled into nearby countries including Cameroon, Ghana, Benin Republic, and as far as Sudan.

In Benin Republic, TheCable reported how the product is being sold for 700 CFA or 800 CFA — up from a previous price of 450 CFA.

Eons Intelligence, a Twitter account that publishes security reports, said “commercial motorcyclists in Cameroon” were protesting the effects of the subsidy removal in their country.

The account tweeted the video on Wednesday.

VIDEO: In Garoua, Cameroon, commercial motorcyclists are protesting the removal of petrol subsidy. They are expressing their dissatisfaction in a blend of Fulfulde and French, and criticizing President Tinubu. pic.twitter.com/N6SC8PFy8r

— Eons Intelligence (@eonsintelligenc) June 7, 2023

TheCable translated the video in which the men were speaking in French and Fulfulde.

They identified themselves as motorcyclists in Cameroon, saying they are affected by the petrol subsidy removal in Nigeria.

Parts of the speech translated from Fulfulde said the development affected working conditions in the country.

“We are commercial motorcycle riders in Cameroon. The hike in petrol price would force us to stop this work,” one of the men said in Fulfulde.

“The subsidy removal in Nigeria has affected our petrol price by inflicting untold hardship on the poor in the country.”

Although TheCable could not ascertain the location and the date the video first surfaced on the internet, a check through the TikTok account where Eons Intelligence posted the video from showed that it was uploaded on June 3.