Naira scarcity: Residents lament as banks shut down operations in Kwara

Residents of Kwara state have continued to lament the hardship posed by scarcity of naira notes, just as some commercial banks in the State have closed to customers since Wednesday.

Some residents, who spoke with the NIGERIAN TRIBUNE, described long queues in some of the banks that are open to customers as “sickening and embarrassing”.

One of the residents, Mallam Muslim Abdulrazaq, who said that the closure of some of the banks may not be unconnected to fear of possible attack by aggrieved Nigerians, however, added that the closure had compounded agonies of the people.

Abdulrazaq also said that a few of the banks in operation only dispense a sum of money between N2,000, N5,000, and N10,000 in N50 notes.

A fruit seller, Alfa Akeem Adeniji, who said that he does not have a bank account, added that the scarcity of naira notes had affected sales, saying that people do not have cash to purchase goods and services.

Alfa Adeniji, who said that items are expensive in markets, added that perishables get bad and rotten with time.

He called on the CBN to make new notes available in banks, lamenting that prices of food items had kept increasing while there is no money to buy the items.

Meanwhile, Governor Abdulrahman Abdulrazaq of Kwara has approved palliatives for various vulnerable groups in the state to cushion the effects of the ongoing fuel scarcity and the currency change in the country.

The palliatives will include cash transfers to widows, pensioners, transporters, marketers, smallholder farmers, and other vulnerable people and it will be done through the Kwara State Social Investment Programme (KWASSIP) for proper coordination and accountability.

“The Governor has therefore directed KWASSIP to work out the details and deploy this modest support as soon as possible to mitigate the effects of the situation,” according to a statement.

“The Governor has also directed the deployment of buses along specific routes used by students and staff of tertiary institutions in the capital city where the effects of the fuel scarcity have been most pronounced. Further details of this palliative will be released by relevant government departments/committees. The bus rides, with at least 50% cut from the original cost (fare), for the students will begin on Monday, February 13, 2023.”

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