CBN Orders Banks to Immediately Collect Old Banknotes from its Branches to Ease Scarcity

•Labour issues strike threat

Onyebuchi Ezigbo in Abuja and Ugo Aliogo in Lagos

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has directed commercial banks to collect the old N500 and N1,000 they had previously deposited at its branches nationwide in order to further ease the scarcity of the currency nationwide.

A reliable source at the CBN who disclosed this to THISDAY, yesterday, expressed optimism that the directive would help end the naira scarcity before the end of the week and the country would be awash with naira notes.

The directive from the apex bank came just as the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), yesterday, directed all workers to picket all the offices of CBN nationwide starting from  next week over current cash crunch in the country.

NLC President, Joe Ajaero, who gave the directive while addressing journalists at Abuja, said the directive became imperative following the expiration of a one-week ultimatum given to the apex bank to make cash available to Nigerians.

He said workers decided to take their destiny in their hands, adding that mobilisation would commence immediately

He said the protest action from next Wednesday, would be total until further notice.

Ajaero said: “Last week at the end of our CWC meeting, we gave a one-week ultimatum for the federal government to address immediately, among other issues, issue of cash crunch that was caused by the policy. As at this morning when the CWC met again to review the situation, we discovered that not much, improvement has been made.

“The situation is still almost the same. People are still buying our currency with our currencies. People can no longer can still not assess the currency and the government seems to be very adamant on this. No moves have been made to reduce the suffering of Nigerians.

“Consequently, the CWC-in-session resolved to go into the process of actualising the one-week notice.

“From Friday, there will be mobilisation of all state councils through a NEC meeting. All unions have already been directed to mobilise all their organs and their branches. By Wednesday, next week, all Central Bank of Nigeria offices nationwide will be picketed.

“All central bank from the CBN headquarters will be shut till further notice. Workers are directed to stay at home and join in the picketing exercise.”

According to him, “workers can no longer go to office and nothing is happening. So we have been pushed to the wall having given one week and we thought they could address the situation which is not addressed.

“We have decided to take our destiny in our hands. So comrades, the mobilisation commences immediately and when we talk of action from Wednesday, it’s total. Until further notice.”