Nigerians express frustration over currency shortage, fuel prices ahead of polls

By Olanrewaju Kola

MAIDUGURI, Nigeria (AA) - Nigerians expressed frustration Tuesday over the scarcity of new naira notes at commercial banks and petrol prices barely 10 days before the country's general elections.

Adaeze Godwin, a widow and mother of two, said her children could not go to school since Monday because she was unable to get cash for their transportation.

"I left them at home by 6 a.m. to get cash at the ATM after failed attempts last weekend. I was shocked to meet crowds of people already there by 5 a.m. Worse, I got only 5,000 naira ($10.86) after six hours in the queue," she told Anadolu.

Around most ATMs across the country, people yell at one another, push and shove as they struggle to withdraw cash.

"It is survival of the fittest," said a security officer guarding one of the ATMs in Maiduguri.

The Central Bank of Nigeria extended a deadline for people to swap their old notes with new currency from Jan. 31 to Feb. 10, two months after the bank introduced the new currency policy.

But the Supreme Court ruled that the federal government, the central bank and commercial banks must not continue with the deadline pending the determination of a notice in respect of the issue on Feb. 15.

Nigerians say they are not getting the new notes even before the deadline, however.

"I've gone to my bank five times to withdraw but was told no cash. Yet online transfer isn’t efficient or oftentimes not working at all. We're at a crossroads," said 70-year-old Yusufu Alade.

Salisu Adamu, a student in the city of Kaduna, and Femi Ige in the city of Port Harcourt said the government's response to the scarcity was slow, calling for quick action to lessen people's suffering.

A senator in the national parliament, Mohammed Ndume, said the implementation of the new currency policy was a breach of the country's constitution.

"The constitution of Nigeria says the government is for the good and wellbeing of the people. Any policy that affects the welfare of the people is a violation of the constitution, and this is what the Central Bank has done," he said.

President Muhammadu Buhari met with Central Bank Governor Godwin Emefiele on Monday over the naira notes crisis, though details of the meeting were not made public. The president had earlier assured Nigerians that the government would resolve the crisis. Prices of petrol have also gone up from 185 naira (40 US cents) per liter to about 700 naira ($1.52) in many parts of the country as elections draw closer.

Nigeria will hold general elections on Feb. 25 and March 11.