Cash Scarcity: NLC orders workers to protest against CBN

The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), on Wednesday, said workers will commence a nationwide protest against the naira scarcity at the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) offices next Wednesday.

The president of the union, Joe Ajaero, gave the directive in Abuja on Wednesday. 

Mr Ajaero said the order became imperative after the expiration of the one-week ultimatum earlier given to the apex bank on March 13.

He noted that despite the ruling of the Supreme Court that the old banknotes should remain legal tender till December 31, 2023, citizens are still faced with the scarcity of cash.

The president of the union threatened that there will be a stay-at-home order for all workers starting next Wednesday if the apex bank refused to make cash available for citizens. 

Mr Ajaero said the industrial action became necessary for the Congress, considering that the federal government refused to look into the plight of Nigerian workers and citizens despite the cash scarcity.

“Last week, we gave an ultimatum for the review of the cash crunch bedeviling the country, but we have discovered to our dismay that as at this moment not much effort has been made to ameliorate the situation, government is still foot-dragging on these issues we raised,” Mr Ajaero said.

“Based on this, we met again this morning to review our position and resolved that by Wednesday next week all CBN branches will be picketed, workers are directed to stay at home too because people cannot eat, workers can no longer go to the office, we have been pushed to the wall.”

Mr Ajaero added, “We have decided to take our destiny in our hands, we have mobilised our workers on this exercise.”

 On March 13, 2023, NLC gave a seven-day ultimatum to the federal government, to resolve the issue of cash and fuel scarcity.