The Minister of Housing and Works, Babatunde Fashola has said that there’s need for the naira redesign policy of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to be reviewed.
The apex bank had announced 10 February as the new deadline for the swap of old naira notes.
It initially fixed 31 January as the deadline but many Nigerians have not been able to get the new N200, N500, and N1000 notes, prompting a scarcity.
The scarcity of the naira notes has sparked protests in some States in Nigeria like Lagos, Delta, Edo, Ondo, Enugu, amongst others.
A group under the auspices of the Coalition of Civil Society Organizations for Good Governance (CCSGG) also staged a protest on Thursday in Marina, Lagos State over the scarcity of Naira notes.
The majority of the banks have their headquarters domiciled in Marina, Lagos Island.
The protesters blocked Marina Road on Lagos Island, chanting “All we are saying, give us new notes.”
In the video that surfaced on social media, the protesters accused banks of working against the redesigned policy of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), thereby making life difficult for ordinary Nigerians.
Similarly, some youths protested against the current hardship in Nigeria at Ife Garage in Ondo City, Ondo State.
This was made known by a Facebook user who posted, “Happening now in Ondo City (Ife Garage). Youths are protesting against the current hardship in Nigeria.”
Some of the placards displayed read ‘Poverty, fuel crisis, unemployment, hunger,’ ‘Stop the hike on our PMS, and ‘The famine is killing the innocent’.
Likewise, motorists and Keke operators, in Enugu State, on Wednesday embarked on a protest over a hike in the price of petrol
The angry protesters manhandled workers of most filling stations in the State capital and ordered them to sell the products at government-approved prices.
The protesters demonstrated along some major roads, blocked some roads, forced both commercial and private motorists to join the protest in solidarity, a development that grounded vehicular and commercial activities for several hours in the metropolis.
Speaking during an interview with media personality, Morayo Afolabi-Brown amidst the uproar in the country, the Minister stated that the scarcity of the new Naira notes is hurting Nigerians.
Fashola said: “I feel sympathy for the Nigerian people and what they have had to go through. Sometimes policies play out like this in the process of implementation, sometimes it all ends well and sometimes it calls for reconsideration and review.
“In spite of the fact the CBN has acted within the spirit and letters of its independence by law, it is important to remember that we serve the public and the public says it is hurting, it is important to take a step back and ask where it is hurting and how we can make it better. It must not be a matter of ego.”