Commuters were, on Wednesday morning, stranded in several parts of Lagos as Danfo drivers protested against exorbitant fees being collected by officials of the Lagos State Park and Gardens Management Committee headed by Musiliu Akinsanya popularly known as MC Oluomo.
The protest, which started at the Toll Gate end of the Lagos-Abeokuta expressway, later spread to other parts of Lagos State.
Commuters were seen trekking long distances to their various destinations as the bus drivers refused to operate, citing extortions and alleged brutality by the state-backed officials.
It was gathered that the bus drivers and their assistants were seen carrying various placards protesting against the alleged extortion.
The inscriptions on the placards read, “we are tired of Agberos’ extortion”, “we can’t continue working for Agberos”, “we pay over N25,000 daily to Agberos extortion”, “Extortion killing us,” among others.
One of the drivers, Musiliu Onafowokan, said extortions by Agberos were killing drivers in Lagos as their profit margin was being eroded on a daily basis.
Onafowokan said, “As drivers, we can’t meet daily responsibilities anymore, we pay so much to Agberos on a daily basis and we can’t make ends meet again. We can’t meet our responsibilities at home as well.
“Our children can’t go to school anymore; we are working for the Agberos. They destroy our vehicles if we don’t pay on time, it’s better for the government to do something about it so fast because we won’t stop protesting until something is done.”
Also speaking, Sikiru Mustapha urged the government of Lagos State to stop the extortion of drivers in the state.
He said the activities of Agberos led by Musiliu Akinsanya known as MC Oluomo should be called to order.
His words, “The burden on us is too much. We pay through our nose on a daily basis. If the government refuses to see to this hardship, we won’t stop protesting. They use their touts to disturb us, they threaten our investment, we are at their mercy on a daily basis.
“They collect money from us from all bus-stops. The suffering is too much, we can’t continue like this. We can’t be working and be living like beggars.”
