It is no news that this period is one of the most difficult periods in Nigeria. The combination of cash and fuel scarcity alongside other issues are the major cause of the difficulties the citizens are currently facing.
What Is Causing Cash Scarcity In Nigeria?
The CBN governor, Godwin Emefiele announced on October 16, 2022, the upcoming change in the 200, 500, and 1000 Naira notes. It was unveiled by President Muhammadu Buhari in November and all citizens were told to deposit all their old currency before 31st January 2023 which was later extended to the 10th of February. In compliance with the instruction, many Nigerians deposited their old cash at their local banks.
Currently, banks aren’t giving out new notes, and most people have deposited their old notes, leading to the ongoing scarcity of cash. Many people are spending hours at banks and ATM booths just to get cash. The crowd at banks had led to violence and chaos in banks. Unfortunately, one man allegedly slumped dead in the bank.
Other people have resorted to making transfers for every transaction. This has also been a concern as most bank apps have crashed due to the traffic.
Most ‘Point Of Sale (POS)’ operators are taking advantage of the situation by ‘selling’ money to people. Imagine paying a whooping N15,000 to withdraw N100,000! They blame it all on how difficult it is to retrieve money from banks.
What Is Causing Fuel Scarcity In Nigeria?
The prices of fuel have extremely hiked as the average price of a liter of fuel is N350. There are long lines in different filling stations due to the scarcity of fuel. These two major issues put together have made it difficult to survive the day in Nigeria and everybody hopes that this phase goes away as soon as possible and that we get to live our lives peacefully.
Seeing this as a concerned Nigeria, everyone should know that they must vote for competency and not for personal interests in the coming election. Everybody should make their research and do due diligence on every candidate and vote for the best person they deem fit so that Nigeria will be better in the coming years. Keep it in mind that everyone has a major role to play.
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