• Met with Bagudu, Tambuwal, Emefiele, EFCC boss
• Tinubu, the banker called calmly
• PDP: Hoarding of new naira notes makes Nigerians sick
• Rock protest in Ondo, Ogun
• Lagos APC suspends campaign
As Nigerians await a much-needed reprieve to squeeze cash now ahead of Friday’s deadline of the cash swap policy, the meeting between President Muhammadu Buhari and the Nigerian Governors Forum (NGF), apparently, scheduled to discuss the sensitive situation failed. continued yesterday.
It was gathered that the President canceled it because of a court order restraining the government from extending the February 10 deadline to exchange the old naira notes for the redesigned ones.
Sources said the President was wary of the possible perception that he was ignoring legitimate orders if the policy was discussed again at this time.
Presidential sources had late on Monday announced that President Buhari would meet with governors to discuss, among other things, the national crisis following the CBN’s new naira policy.
The canceled meeting came just four days after the President met with the governor-elect on the platform of the All Progressives Congress (APC) after he appealed to Nigerians to give them seven days to resolve the crisis.
On Monday, APC governors: Nasir el-Rufai (Kaduna), Yahaya Bello (Kogi) and Bello Matawalle (Zamfara) dragged the Federal Government to the Supreme Court. The governors prayed the court to declare that the Federal Demonetization Policy currently being implemented by the CBN with the approval of President Buhari is against the provisions of the 1999 Constitution (as amended), the CBNAct (2007) and other relevant laws on the matter.
Despite the cancellation of the meeting, NGF chairman and Sokoto State governor, Aminu Tambuwal and Progressive Governors Forum (PGF) chairman and Kebbi State governor, Atiku Bagudu, had a private meeting with President Buhari in his office.
Also at the meeting were the governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Godwin Emefiele and the chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Abdulrasheed Bawa.
It was unclear what was discussed as no one spoke to the waiting reporters. When asked if there was any contemplation of a policy change, the CBN boss refused to answer and instead sought to shield his face from correspondents.
Recall that the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) high court, on Monday, stopped the CBN from using the old naira notes beyond February 10.
As the panic sweeps through the banking industry through the lack of cash, the Chartered Bankers Institute of Nigeria (CIBN), the umbrella professional body for bankers, has said relevant stakeholders “assiduously” to rectify the situation.
“Although we are aware of the plight of our bank customers, we earnestly appeal for calm and understanding as the regulator (CBN) and operators (banks) are working hard to control the situation,” CIBN said in a statement signed by its Registrar/Chief Director, Akin Morakinyo.
The agency sympathizes with depositors over the difficulties in accessing their deposits in recent days, a situation that has led to pockets of violence in various countries and increased social tensions.
It described the challenge as an “unintended consequence” of the naira redesign and promised that relevant stakeholders are engaging on issues that can be addressed.
The CIBN guarantee came after protests by disgruntled bank customers. Nigerians continue to pay through the nose to make withdrawals, especially at point-of-sale (PoS) terminals, where they are charged up to 30 percent of the amount ordered.
Electronic payment channels continue to disrupt even though banks still do not have enough money to visit customers. Some lenders have a withdrawal limit of N2,000 just like some automatic teller machines (ATMs) dispense money.
In Abuja, charging station attendants now operate PoS and sell naira directly to car owners. While queues for Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) have reduced in most parts of Abuja, the cash crunch threatens the dispensing of the product as most filling stations refuse to sell petrol to cashless people.
Some officers send available money to a third party, which is a PoS operator.
In the meantime, the Trade Union Congress of Nigeria (TUC) has issued a seven-day ultimatum to the Federal Government to address the twin problems of naira and petrol shortage.
In a statement signed by the President, Festus Osifo and Secretary General, Nuhu Toro, the TUC said: “We call on the Federal Government within seven days, starting Tuesday, to provide a solution to the twin problems of currency unavailability and fuel shortage.”
The TUC maintained that it is not interested in the blame game going on in government and political circles, nor is it fascinated by endless promises and guarantees made by the government that the situation will soon be brought under control.
If the N200, N500 and N1,000 are not in circulation because they were redesigned, the TUC wondered why the N100 and N50 notes that they were not redesigned were not in circulation.
He said that long explanations about why there are long queues at gas stations and PMS prices that are far from the official prices can no longer be tolerated.
The TUC said all state council executives had been red flagged and union leaders would monitor the situation closely to issue further directives if the situation did not improve.
The presidential candidate of the ruling APC, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, has appealed to Nigerians to remain calm as the government and relevant agencies continue to work towards a solution.
Speaking in Abuja on Tuesday, Tinubu said he sympathized with the people, especially the downtrodden, who have been made to bear the brunt of the new naira policy and irregular petrol supply that have combined to cause avoidable pain to the masses. .
He commended NNPC Limited for the fuel supply relief enjoyed in the FCT and urged the company to take action to bring relief across the country.
He also called on the CBN not to be dogmatic on the deadline set for the transition from the old naira notes to the new one, especially since the unintended consequences of the policy have caused great pain to the public.
Also, the Atiku/Okowa Presidential Campaign said the introduction of new naira notes has caused unimaginable pain to Nigerians, destroying their means of livelihood.
The campaign said it stands with Nigerians in calling for an end to the criminal activity of intercepting and hoarding new records, for vote buying plots, despite the excruciating difficulties of the dramatic action affecting millions of Nigerians throughout the country.
Campaign spokesperson, Kola Ologbondiyan, in a statement said: “Our campaign is shocked by the plot exposed by some APC governors to secretly swap a whooping N22.5 billion in old N1,000 new notes to buy votes.
“Already, Nigerians are forced to face a situation worse than the experience of COVID-19 because Tinubu hid new records to rig the election.
“Our campaign advises Tinubu to lift the knee from the neck of Nigerians by stopping the hoarding of new notes so that new notes can freely flow to Nigerians to run their daily lives.”
Protests, yesterday, erupted in some parts of Ondo and Ogun states. Angry residents blocked the busy Ore-Benin expressway, causing traffic jams and preventing vehicular movement for hours.
A commuter, Segun Olaitan, who was stuck in traffic, was revealed to be over two hours at the Ore intersection with no hope of how soon the road will be free.
In Abeokuta, residents took to the main streets to protest the naira and fuel shortage in Ogun. Vehicles and other business activities were shut down, while other shops and stores were closed rapidly.
Banks were closed as workers were seen rushing home to avoid being caught up in the crisis. In addition, parents were seen rushing to the school to pick up their wards, while motorcyclists showed their loyalty to the protesters by sticking leaves on their vehicles.
According to eyewitness accounts, the protesters took over Aladesanmi, Fajol and Somorin in the Obantoko area, along the Abeokuta-Ibadan road, to register their displeasure with the policies of the CBN, which have caused Nigerians untold misery and suffering in the past two weeks .
It is known that the unrest also spread to other areas of the metropolis like Sapon and Adatan, where political posters and billboards were destroyed. At least one person was reportedly hit by a stray bullet during the protest.
When contacted, the Ogun State police spokesperson, Abimbola Oyeyemi, confirmed the incident, saying the matter was already under way. He added that no arrests were made as of 5:00 p.m.
The Lagos State chapter of the APC, yesterday, suspended its campaign to the forthcoming elections. According to a statement by the party, the chairman, Cornelius Ojelabi, said the decision was made due to the state of the country due to fuel scarcity and the pain of the naira redesign.
He empathized with the general public, especially the downtrodden, who, he claimed, at the receiving end.
Ojelabi expressed his view that it was insensitive to go ahead with various public meetings with the situation.
Ojelabi enjoined Lagosians to remain law abiding as all issues would be resolved in time.