Despite the two weeks grace given to the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and commercial banks to make cash available to Nigerians by the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), there still appears to be a hitch in the normal availability of cash.
When I checked some bank premises in Abuja yesterday, a large number of bank customers were seen struggling through queues to gain access into the banking halls for withdrawals as the Authomated Teller Machines (ATM) in most places visited were not dispensing cash.
This came a weeks after the NLC suspended its earlier proposed picketing of the CBN offices nationwide on Wednesday March 29, 2023, to enable the apex bank restore total normalcy of cash availability within the nation.
An Abuja resident, Lawrence Audu who spoke with me at one of the bank premises in Utako, said he as been trying to get cash for two days but to no avail.
He said, “It is not yet easy for some of us to get cash. I have been trying since for two days now, but I am yet to get cash. I went to some ATMs but there are not paying. Even at the weekend, I tried, as you can see here, I have spent over one hour, but my number on the queue is still far, I want this problem to end so that I can focus on my business.”
There were also pockets of long queues seen in Mararaba, Nyanya and Karu axis.
According to the leadership of the NLC, the organisation will embark on a nation – wide strike without warning if the cash situation degenerates instead of returning to normalcy.
The congress national president, Comrade Joseph Ajaero who spoke on the issue to journalists in Abuja, said NLC has set up a Joint Committee at the national and state levels to monitor and ensure sustainable compliance by the CBN towards ending the cash crunch and removing the siege on Nigerians.
He said, “We want to assure Nigerians that though there are other critical issues confronting us as a people, we are continuously committed to making sure that we roll back all anti-workers and peoples policies of the government.
“Once again, we call for the continued support of all Nigerians to ensure that we rescue ourselves from actions that are designed to emasculate us both as workers and as a people. It is only by working together that we can guarantee our collective safety and interests as a people”, he said.
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