NAIRA SCARCITY: Obi begs Nigerians for endurance, says CBN policy beneficial in long term

The Labour Party presidential candidate, Peter Obi, has urged Nigerians to bear the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) as regards its recent redesign of the nation’s currency.

The CBN redesign of currency and the resultant scarcity of new notes had culminated into untold hardship for the Nigerian public.

This development had also led to protests in different parts of the country, as some commercial banks refused to make the new notes available to the public.

However, President Muhammadu Buhari had shared his thoughts about the policy and assured Nigerians of definitive intervention within seven days.

Tweeting on the development on Sunday, the former Anambra State governor said the policy would come with some economic and social benefits for Nigerians.

READ ALSO:2023: Southern, Middle Belt leaders endorse Peter Obi for presidency

Obi, however, charged the apex financial institution to make the new notes available to the teeming public, especially those in the rural areas.

He wrote: “The currency redesign is not peculiar to Nigeria. It is an exercise that comes with some inconvenience and pain but it has significant longterm economic and social benefits.

“Even though there are improvements that can be made, I urge Nigerians to bear with the CBN and Federal Government with the hope that the general populace and Nigeria will harvest the gains that will come with the reforms.

“We equally implore the CBN and the banks to expedite efforts to make the new currency available to small depositors and the unbanked in order to reduce the pains of my fellow Nigerians, especially the underprivileged and those living far away from banks in the rural areas.”

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