As Nigerians groan under the hardship of the scarcity of naira notes occasioned by the redesigning of some denomination and the Central Bank of Nigeria’s cashless policy, the presidential candidate of the Labour Party, Peter Obi, has enjoined Nigerians to bear with the CBN.
Obi, through his Twitter handle, on Sunday, said currency redesigning was not peculiar to Nigeria, saying that the inconveniences experienced now would yield long-term economic benefits, adding however that improvements could have been made in the implementation.
Obi said, “The currency redesign is not peculiar to Nigeria. It is an exercise that comes with some inconvenience and pain but it has significant long-term economic and social benefits. Even though there are improvements that can be made.
“I urge Nigerians to bear with the CBN and Federal Government with the hope that the general populace and Nigeria will harvest the gains that will come with the reforms.
“We equally implore the CBN and the banks to expedite efforts to make the new currency available to small depositors and the unbanked in order to reduce the pains of my fellow Nigerians, especially the underprivileged and those living far away from banks in the rural areas.”
Nigerians have continued to lament the unavailability and scarcity of the new notes, with the lingering scarcity of both old and new naira notes crippling economic activities nationwide.
This is as protests have broken out in various cities across the country, with many angry about the pains and hardship citizens are being subjected to in order to have access to the new notes.
Meanwhile, President, Muhammadu Buhari last week assured Nigerians that he would address the woes associated with accessing the redesigned notes, promising to resolve the crisis within seven days.
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