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Residents of Benue State, particularly, the youths, on Thursday, shunned the nationwide protest against hardship in the country, as there were no impediments to government and commercial activities in the state.
DAILY POST observed that residents in the state appeared to comply with the admonition of Governor Hyacinth Alia, stakeholders, and youth groups not to participate in the protest against national hardship.
Most offices, including Federal and State Secretariats, remained open and civil servants were seen going about their normal duties.
The streets were deserted in the early hours, but commercial banks were open for business. Commercial town service buses and motorcyclists were seen transporting people to their various destinations without molestation.
Passengers were seen boarding vehicles from various parks in Makurdi to travel to different parts of the country.
Most eateries, newspaper vendors and telecommunications outlets at High Level, Wurukum, Wadata and North Bank areas in Makurdi also opened their shops for business.
Security agencies were observed patrolling the Makurdi metropolis, with their vehicles stationed at strategic points to prevent any breaches of security.
A cross-section of Benue people appealed to the federal government to take measures to mitigate the hardship in the country.
A civil servant, Adakole Agbo, stated that urgent steps must be taken to reduce fuel prices and food costs to help common people survive.
Efforts to get the views of the Police Public Relations Officer for Benue State Command, SP Sewuese Anene, were unsuccessful. However, an officer mentioned that there were no reported cases of arrest as they patrolled the streets at the time of filing this report.
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