From Femi Folaranmi, Yenagoa
The Bayelsa State Government has urged the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to make the new banknotes available to commercial banks in the state to mitigate the suffering of the people.
The state Deputy Governor, Senator Lawrence Ewhrudjakpo, who made the call at a meeting with bank managers and service commanders in Yenagoa, expressed concern over the difficulties the people experience following the scarcity of the new banknotes in the state.
Media aide to the deputy governor, Mr Doubra Atasi disclosed that the meeting was convened as a response to the security concerns resulting from the CBN naira swap policy and the attendant hardship being faced by the public to get the new naira notes to meet their daily transactional needs.
Ewhrudjakpo urged residents of Yenagoa to be law-abiding; assuring that the government would take precautionary measures to prevent any breach of the existing peace in the state.
“Our number one responsibility as a government is to ensure peace and security of our people. We are aware and deeply concerned about what our people are passing through because of the CBN currency swap policy.
“That is why we called this meeting to see how we can manage the situation we have in our hands. We believe the banks should be open for business because the security agencies are there to protect you.
“This idea of locking up the banks is not helping us. If there is no money, you let the public know. But if the people know you have money and you are not paying or transacting business, it will definitely cause problems. And that’s what we don’t want.”
The Commissioner of Police, Ben Okolo, said the meeting was about taking stock of the various measures and efforts being made by government and the banks to ensure peace as well as assuage the suffering of the people.
He assured that the Police Command had beefed up security in all the commercial banks and the CBN in Yenagoa following a communiqué reportedly issued by a group of people threatening to attack banks over the scarcity of the new banknotes.
Speaking the representatives of the various commercial banks in Yenagoa, explained that their institutions had to shut down their operations temporarily upon receipt of the said communiqué to avoid loss of lives and property
They however lamented that the cash crunch being witnessed in the state was due to short supply of the new banknotes from the Central Bank of Nigeria, stressing that once funds were received, all their payment channels would be made accessible to members of the public.
According to them, scarcity of the new naira notes is being exacerbated by owners of major businesses like petrol filling stations, supermarkets and wholesalers who sell banknotes to Point of Sale (POS) operators, thereby denying the banks of deposits since the implementation of the CBN policy.
