New naira: Don’t encourage insurrection, stop hoarding, Adeleke warns banks

Osun State Governor, Senator Ademola Adeleke, has warned commercial banks operating in the state against hoarding new naira notes and rejecting old currency. A statement signed by the spokesperson to the governor, Olawale Rasheed, and obtained in Osogbo on Wednesday, said Adeleke also lamented the hardship Nigerians were exposed to over naira scarcity. Adeleke, who decried the non-acceptance of the old currency, called on the banks to be compassionate by either making the new notes available or continue accepting the old currency notes. The statement further read in parts, “I am pained by the current hardship inflicted on our people. Daily living has become a nightmare. All sectors of society are witnessing untold hardship. I call on bank chiefs to have mercy on the poor, the middle class and even the rich. “We must make the new naira notes available or we continue to accept old notes. We must stop punishing the citizens even when they commit no sin. I hereby warn the banks in Osun state to be humane. We should not encourage insurrection against the government by citizens through unfair policies and actions. “Banks in Osun state must meet the demands of the people for new notes. Those banks who have stopped receiving old notes must reverse that policy. Our people are being pushed to the wall. “