Cash scarcity: NLC set to picket CBN offices

The Nigeria Labour (NLC), yesterday, threatened to shut offices of Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) nationwide from next Wednesday to protest the continuous scarcity of the currency.

Since the implementation of the naira redesign policy and subsequent cash shortage, Nigerians have had harrowing experience.

NLC President, Joe Ajaero, who spoke in Abuja, yesterday, directed all workers to stay off work and participate in the picketing of offices of the apex bank nationwide until the CBN makes the currency available.

He said it became necessary as the ultimatum given to the apex bank elapsed without any improvement on the scarcity of the nation’s currency.

“Beginning from this Friday, we are going to embark on the mobilisation of all state councils of the NLC.”

Reliable sources in the CBN said banks have been instructed to collect the old Naira note they deposited in CBN and before the end of the week, the country would be awash with Naira notes

Notwithstanding the promise, Ajaero noted that all affiliate unions, be it in the private or public sectors, have been directed to mobilise all their units to participate in the picketing in whichever state they operate.

The NLC president lamented the frustration of Nigerians, noting that despite the fact that they have money, they could not access it, adding that it has caused a lot of trauma to the economy.

Ajaero said the Central Working Committee (CWC) met on yesterday to review the situation since the ultimatum was given, but discovered that, not much improvement has been made, the situation still almost the same.

“People are still buying our currency with our currency. People can still not accessed the currency and the government seems ignorant of this. To reduce the sufferings of Nigerians, consequently the CWC in session resolved to go into the process of actualising the one week notice it gave.”

The new NLC boss called for the understanding of all Nigerians as the Congress shut all the operations of the CBN nationwide.

“We call on all Nigerians to understand the circumstances we are operating in. People will be telling you the political situation, the political situation is self-inflicted and the economic situation is worst than political situation because people cannot eat, workers can no longer go to work and nothing is happening,” he said.

He emphasised that the Congress action on the CBN from next week Wednesday would involve the headquarters and other offices across the country and would be total until further notice.

Speaking at the end of the two-day monetary policy committee meeting in Abuja on Tuesday, Emefiele said the implementation of the naira redesign policy has resulted in the reduction in currency outside the banks and apologised to Nigerians for the rise in failed electronic banking transactions.

“At the beginning of the naira redesign policy we said that there was about N3.23 trillion in circulation out of which only N500 billion was held in the banking system, while N2.73 trillion was outside the banks,” the CBN governor said.

“It was published yesterday that currency in circulation is close to N1 trillion. CBN will continue to pump the newly redesigned currency into the market.

“The truth is that at some point we will need to reassess to know whether the currency in circulation has attained an optimal level so as to put in place measures to ensure that we don’t go to the level where we were when people kept money outside the banking system for their own benefits.”

Source: The Sun

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