Cash Crunch Killing Businesses, Afenifere Laments

Pan-Yoruba socio-political organisation, Afenifere, has lamented the persistence of cash crunch in the country, saying it hindered growth of businesses.

Afenifere in a statement signed by its national publicity secretary, Comrade Jare Ajayi called on President Muhammadu Buhari to make good his declaration last week regarding the Supreme Court pronouncement on the circulation of naira notes.

The group stated that reports from various parts of the country indicated that people are still finding it very difficult to obtain cash from banks and related spots such as Deposit Monetary Banks.

The organisation noted that such development is making life very difficult for people just and the situation has forced  many businesses to go under, especially the  small and medium scale businesses.

The organisation  recalled that President Muhammadu Buhari, in a statement issued on his behalf by his spokesman, Garba Shehu, declared that he did not stop either the Central Bank Governor or the Attorney General of the Federation from complying with the order of the apex court.

It noted that the apex court had, earlier this month, ordered that both the old and the new Naira notes should remain in circulation as legal tenders until December 31, 2023.

Afenifere stated that the ceiling put on the amount of money a customer can withdraw from his or her bank account was an infringement on the customer’s rights. And that it should be stopped forthwith.

According to the organisation, as at the beginning of this week when this statement was being issued, currency notes are not only hard to come by, banks still put a limit on the amount a customer can withdraw. It added that not all the banks  are giving out cash as many still complain of scarcity of either the old or the new notes.

Afenifere asserted that if this trend continues, the country and the citizens “are in for serious economic and social upheavals”.

It cited the warning last Thursday by Abuja Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ACCI) which lamented the high rate of inflation that is complicating “business climate and deepened challenges facing small scale businesses.”

It stated that the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) in its latest report disclosed that the inflation rate in the country was 21.91 per cent in February – an increase of 0.09 per cent from the 21.82 per cent that it was in January 2023.

“The President, in a statement by his spokesman, Mr. Femi Adesina, has claimed that his administration, in spite of “difficult times brought upon us by a variety of external shocks, has done much to ensure survival and development of SMEs”.

The organisation noted that the president said that while playing host to the Governing Council of the Institute of Directors led by its chairman, Dr (Mrs) Ije Jidenma, who visited him in the Presidential Villa, Abuja.

“Right thinking Nigerians never cease to be amazed by disclosures from the Presidency which seem to fly against the reality of what is happening in the country. At the moment, everybody knows that not only are businesses under serious strain, Nigerians are finding it difficult to maintain what they have.

“Besides that, millions of people are finding it difficult to stay afloat as their means of livelihood are experiencing a lot of setbacks. It is therefore surprising to hear voices from the seat of power asserting that businesses are growing”.

Afenifere also cited the report of Hamonise Cadre (HC) released last week Thursday which indicated that Naira redesign was one of the key inducers of social and economic crises as the withdrawal of the old naira notes from circulation “created a serious bottleneck to the households’ ability to access cash and food commodities”.

According to Afenifere, Harmonise Cadre (HC) is an early warning tool to prevent and manage food and nutrition crises. “The process which is led by the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development in Nigeria got technical and financial support from the United Nations’ Food and Agricultural Organisation (FAO), UNICEF, Save the Children, Mercy Corps etc.

“The HC report which covered 24 of the country’s 36 states, indicated that food consumption levels had remained inadequate and below the desired threshold across most of the states.”