Naira Scarcity Protests: Governor Okowa appeals for calm

The Governor of Delta State and Vice-Presidential Candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Sen. (Dr) Ifeanyi Okowa has appealed to citizens of the state and Nigerians to remain calm amidst scarcity of the new naira notes in the country.

The governor’s appeal is coming on the heels of protests by some citizens of the state at Orhuwhorun Community in Udu Local Government Area of the state where a bank’s ATM gallery was reportedly torched.

Okowa’s appeal was contained in a statement by the State Commissioner for Information, Mr. Charles Aniagwu in Asaba.

He called on the people to remain calm while also appealing to the Central Bank of Nigeria and the monetary authorities to take further steps in increasing the money supply in the system.

“We appeal to our brothers and sisters across the state to keep calm in spite of the current travails they are going through as a result of the scarcity of naira notes in the country.

“As a government, we are not unaware of your sufferings but we appeal to you to be patient with the monetary authorities as they take steps to improve on the money supply in the country.

“We are very much aware of Your pains and concerns, but burning down a bank that employs our people will not augur well for us as a nation even as it will not also solve the problem but will further compound the situation.

“Once again we appeal to you all to sheath your swords while we continue to engage the CBN to ensure more funds are released to the banks in the country,” he stated.

In other news, the Supreme Court has adjourned the hearing in a suit filed by Kaduna, Kogi, and Zamfara states against the Federal Government, which seeks a restraining order to stop the full implementation of the naira redesign policy of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) until February 22.