Friday, 29th March 2024
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Hike In Pure Water Prices Causing Uproar In Abuja And Edo State

Yesterday, the hike in pure water prices at the FCT led to the protest of pure water sellers whose means of living as of the moment has been threatened. The streets of Kubwa was lit with protesters complaining of the hike which wholesalers attributed to the scarcity of the Dollar and the depreciation of the…

Yesterday, the hike in pure water prices at the FCT led to the protest of pure water sellers whose means of living as of the moment has been threatened. The streets of Kubwa was lit with protesters complaining of the hike which wholesalers attributed to the scarcity of the Dollar and the depreciation of the Naira. A bag which contains 20 sachets and on a normal day would go for a 100 Naira is being sold between the range of N120 -N150.

A protester, Yusuf lamented that the product, which hitherto sold for N100 per bag, now sells between N140 and N150. He said they witnessed low patronage in the past weeks. “Now that we sell at N15 and N20, people who drank five or more sachets have reduced their patronage, unlike when we sold at N10 per sachet. The turnover is poor and at the end of the day, what we take home is not commensurate with the stress. We are in a season where people don’t drink much; the rains are here and people don’t seem to be thirsty like they are during the dry season. We pay levy of between N20 to N50 every day before we are allowed to sell in motor parks and with the current situation, things are beyond our limit.

Photo Credit: Nigerian Nation

Photo Credit: Nigerian Nation

Today it has come to our notice that the hike went 200% higher in Edo state as some of the hawkers say they now buy a bag of pure water for N400 and are forced to sell it at N20 as against the N5 they sold it before. And people are no longer patronizing them like they used to.

The beginning of this month had our President saying he would not devalue the Naira if he wasn’t assured of the welfare of the poor and middle class. Pure water is a staple in the average Nigerian home, if the dollar is going to affect pure water that is made locally, the future is certainly uncertain.

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