‘What happened to new notes?’ CACOL slams FG, CBN over naira scarcity

The Centre for Anti-Corruption and Open Leadership, CACOL, has called on the Federal Government and the Central Bank of Nigeria to fix the naira scarcity which is currently subjecting Nigerians to untold hardship during this Yuletide season.

CACOL asked both the FG and the apex bank where the printed naira notes have disappeared despite billions of naira invested in it which initially launched Nigerian people into hardship at the beginning of the year.

The anti-graft organisation made this known in a statement issued by its Director of Administration and Programmes, Tola Oresanwo on behalf of the Chairman, Mr. Debo Adeniran, on Thursday.

In the statement entitled: ‘Naira Scarcity: Too much a burden on Nigerians’ CACOL decried the current Naira scarcity being witnessed in various parts of the country, which has made banks to impose withdrawal limits on the people.

The statement read, “We have observed that barely a year after the Central Bank of Nigeria Naira redesign that ended up as a colossal fiasco and subjected our people to untold hardships, Naira scarcity has resurfaced in the country.

“It was reported that since last month, banks started imposing daily individual withdrawal limits of between N20,000 to N40,000 which was mainly due to the shortage of cash in their vaults.

“Although the Central Bank has tried to assuage the apprehension of the people by repeatedly assuring the people that it had supplied the banks with enough cash but the situation is yet to improve.

“As we speak now, you cannot withdraw more than N10,000 in some banks, this is not a good time for this anomaly as we are approaching the festive season when a majority of our people who rely on cash transactions would likely demand more cash to facilitate their various transactions.

“The Federal government and the Central Bank of Nigeria should critically look into what may have been responsible for the current Naira scarcity and nip it in the bud as soon as possible. It is a known fact that mobile and online transactions are still plagued with numerous challenges that make some Nigerians not adopt them.

“The fact that a vast majority of the people in the hinterlands who don’t have access to the internet and or electricity may only find solace in cash transactions is another factor why we cannot afford to subject them to another round of wild goose chase of a commodity that ought to be readily available whenever it is needed.

“The patience of Nigerians has been repeatedly tested by the actions and inactions of the government in the last few years. This was climaxed by the removal of fuel subsidy which resulted in attendant increase not only in the cost of transportation but also in the prices of goods and services, especially foodstuffs, decaying infrastructures, epileptic power supply, devaluation of the Naira, just to mention a few among other burdens the people have been made to bear.

“Also, one begins to wonder why both the new Naira notes that millions of taxpayers’ money was used to print and the old Naira notes that the Supreme Court has ruled to coexist as legal tender is now scarce in circulation. One would have expected that after the sad turn out of the event of the new Naira redesign, the Central Bank would have put machinery in place that would make such an occurrence a history that would not repeat itself.”

The CACOL boss added, “We would like to use this medium to call on the Federal Government and the Central Bank to do all within their power to push enough cash into circulation as our people don’t deserve to be treated as slaves in their fatherland. They have worked hard for their money and they deserve to access cash whenever they need it.

“A stitch in time saves nine, the situation should not be allowed to degenerate beyond the level it is now, so that the government will not be seen to be pushing the majority of the people who are already bearing the brunt of the misgovernance of the few to the wall which may lead to dire consequences not only for the economy but also for the peace and tranquility of the country as a whole.”