By Amuda Dan Sulaiman Fab
Hawkers of sachet water, popularly known as pure water, in Lokoja, the Kogi State capital, have protested a hike in price of the product by the manufacturers.
The hawkers, who marched along major roads of the city on Sunday told NationalWatch that a bag of sachet water, which initially sold for N130, now sold for between N200 and N250.
NationalWatch reports that sachet water producers in Lokoja at the weekend embarked on strike, citing rise in cost of water from the state Water Board.
One of the protesters who distribute a popular brand of sachet water in the city, Mr. John Emmanuel, lamented that sachet water hawkers were being made to pay N10,000 for a truck of water tanker instead of seven thousand naira.
He added that; “we stay for days before our trucks are loaded at the Water Board. The officials give lack of chemical to purify the water as reasons for the delay and increase in the water rate.
Speaking on the situation, Mallam Musa Saidu said the problem started when sachet water producers in the city embarked on strike, claiming they no longer made profit due to an alleged rise in loading of water and scarcity of water.
Saidu said the situation was seriously telling on them and their families as customers were unwilling to buy a sachet of water for N20.
The protesting hawkers appealed for the intervention of the state government to force down the price of the product and make regular supply of water.
