Ademola Adeleke, governor of Osun, has lamented the naira scarcity in the country, saying the problem has affected the financial lives of the people in the state.
Rasheed Olawale, the spokesperson to the governor, said Adeleke spoke during a meeting on Monday with the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) officials from the state branch.
Olawale in a statement on Monday, quoted Adeleke saying that the crisis has bitten so hard that even as a state governor, he has no cash to spend.
He told the CBN officials to act fast to curtail any form of unrest in the state.
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“The situation is getting out of hand. The CBN must act fast. Any bank hoarding the new notes must be sanctioned. We should not treat such banks with kid gloves,” the governor was quoted saying.
“My people are patient but we should not take their patience for granted. That is why I called for this meeting. Why are the new notes not available? Is the supply small or inadequate? “
The governor said the state is ready to partner with the CBN to solve the naira scarcity issue.
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“The new notes are not available. Even as a State Governor, I don’t have the new notes. You can see how hard it is for our people to access the new currency if their Governor is not getting them. We should not overstretch the cooperation we are enjoying from the citizenry. We are expected as elected and appointed leaders to respond to the needs and aspirations of our people.”
While responding to the governor, Oluyemi Adeyemi, the CBN state director, commended Adeleke for his proactive steps that have saved the state from naira-related riots.
“We must thank Mr Governor for reaching out to the people, for diffusing tension, for keeping the state peaceful. We are aware of the day Mr Governor stopped some angry youth from demonstrating and from attacking the CBN office,” the CBN official stated.
“On our part, we are working hard to make the new notes available. Let me say that the CBN has issued queries to some banks. I assure Nigerians that we are working hard to make the new notes available.”
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Osun state is not among the states that approached the supreme court from banning the use of the old naira notes from February 10, 2023.
A seven-member panel of the apex court led by John Okoro, had ruled in an ex parte application brought by three states: Kaduna, Kogi, and Zamfara to temporarily stop the implementation of the naira redesign policy.
President Muhammadu Buhari recently announced the extension of the validity of old N200 notes till April 10.
He also directed the CBN to recirculate the old N200 notes to ease the ongoing cash crunch.
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