PHOTOS: Travellers stranded as Ondo residents protest cash, petrol scarcity

Residents of Ore in Odigbo LGA of Ondo state on Tuesday staged a protest along the Benin/Ore expressway against the scarcity of naira notes and petrol.

The protest caused gridlocks on the expressway, causing many travellers to be stranded.

One of the protesters, Adebayo Adeyemi, said residents have been through hardship in the past few weeks due to the scarcity of petrol and naira notes.

Adeyemi said the government must find ways to improve the supply of the new currency nationwide as the February 10 deadline draws closer.

Meanwhile, Oyeyemi Oyediran, the Ondo commissioner of police, had on Monday met with stakeholders in the state on the need to avoid any protest. 

He said the command was aware of plans to embark on protests, urging them to shelve the idea because hoodlums may sabotage the demonstration.

In October 2022, Godwin Emefiele, governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), announced the plan to redesign the N200, N500, and N1,000 notes, and asked Nigerians to deposit their old notes before January 31, 2023, when they would cease to be legal tender.

Although the deadline has been shifted to February 10, many Nigerians have found it difficult to obtain the new naira notes, leading to protests and demonstrations in parts of the country.

Here are photos from the protest in Ondo.