By John Dike, Osogbo
Commercial minibus drivers, popularly known as Korope operators, on Wednesday staged a peaceful protest in Osogbo, the Osun State capital, over the rising cost of petrol, demanding an upward review of transport fares and urgent government intervention to cushion the impact of rising operating costs.
The drivers gathered at the popular Ayetoro area of the city, where they temporarily parked their vehicles and stayed off the roads, saying the sharp increase in petrol prices had made commercial transportation increasingly difficult and unprofitable.
Speaking with journalists, one of the protesters, Adewumi Adeleke, said some drivers were spending as much as ₦40,000 daily on fuel, leaving them with little or no income after meeting other operational expenses.
“How could you be running this business, spending about ₦40,000 on fuel a day, and when you get home, all you see is just ₦5,000 or ₦3,000? Spare parts and everything are too costly, so we are not comfortable with the situation,” he said.
Adeleke appealed to the Federal and Osun State governments to make Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) readily available in Osogbo, saying the alternative fuel could help reduce the cost of operating commercial vehicles..
According to him, many drivers were willing to convert their buses from petrol to CNG but needed government support to make the conversion affordable.
He said the protest aimed at drawing attention to the plight of commercial drivers, warning that the operators could embark on a prolonged strike if their concerns were not addressed.
Another driver, Prince Olakunle Ojo, said the rising cost of petrol had made it difficult for operators to make meaningful profits from their daily activities.
Ojo said a driver could spend about ₦15,000 on fuel and still return home with only about ₦13,000 in earnings, leaving little or nothing to cater for food, vehicle maintenance and family needs.
“By the time you buy fuel worth ₦15,000 in the morning and, at the end of the day, you are able to make ₦13,000, the fuel money is not there, your food money is not there, and you cannot take care of the vehicle,” he said.
Ojo also criticised the lack of CNG refuelling facilities in Osun State, saying the government’s CNG initiative would have little impact if commercial drivers could not access refuelling stations.
“There is no single station in Osun State. Many people who have CNG in their vehicles are just keeping it there because Osun State does not have any station we can point to and say this is where you can get CNG,” he said.
The drivers also demanded an immediate review of transport fares to reflect the current cost of petrol, vehicle maintenance and other operational expenses.
Another driver, Ariyo Idowu, said operators were no longer willing to continue under the prevailing conditions, noting that the cost of vehicle spare parts and household expenses had also increased.
Idowu called for the provision and improvement of designated bus stops across Osogbo, saying better infrastructure would make transportation operations easier and more organised.
He warned that the drivers could embark on a week-long strike if their demands were not addressed.
The protest came amid continuing concerns over the impact of rising fuel prices on commercial transportation and the wider cost of living.
The drivers appealed to the government and transport unions to engage them in dialogue and adopt measures to reduce the financial pressure on operators without imposing unaffordable transport costs on commuters.
