The National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS) has urged the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to demonstrate greater competence in dealing with the country’s ongoing currency crisis.
WITHIN NIGERIA previously reported that President Muhammadu Buhari announced in an early morning broadcast on Thursday that 500 and 1000 naira notes were no longer legal tender and that 200 naira notes would continue to circulate in the economy until April 10.
In a statement issued on Thursday by the Southwest Coordinator, Comrade Adejuwon Emmanuel Olatunji, the association noted that the inability to obtain new naira notes was contributing to the hardship caused by the scarcity of fuel.
According to the student body, the apex bank has completely failed to demonstrate competence in implementing the policy that has thrown the country into chaos.
They said;
The CBN ordered that the old Naira notes should not be accepted by any commercial bank again at the date it stipulated without any better measure to ensure the interest of the masses is protected.
There are series of ways to mopping up the old currency and making new notes circulate without frustrating the general public. Apart from the governor of the Central Bank, we have a number of deputy governors and directors, can’t they all think through ways that the policy would be implemented with the least disruption and damage to the national economy.
Furthermore, the association insisted that claims of politicians using naira to buy votes were unsustainable given that votes could also be purchased in other currencies.
The student body questioned whether the government wanted the country to be rife with protests while also demanding that those in power who fail to fulfill their responsibilities resign.
Regarding the claim of politicians using money to buy votes, is it only Naira that can be used to buy votes? What will happen if they use other currencies to buy vote? Those in positions of authority and who cannot deliver on the mandate of their offices should just resign. These people should let Nigerians know what they are up to. Do they want the whole country to be set ablaze by protesters?
Hospitals, even in emergency situations, are not collecting old Naira notes. Hospitals are not even attending to patients who do not have new notes, making old and young Nigerians lose their lives needlessly. For instance, in ibadan yesterday, a child was rushed to an hospital around Akala Express, the doctor did not attend to the child all because of new Naira note policy and they did not accept bank transfer as well which led to the child’s death, the association added.
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