Youths in Ore, Odigbo Local Government Area of Ondo State took to the streets on Friday to protest the ban on old N500 and N1000 notes announced by the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Godwin Emefiele. The ban followed a nationwide broadcast by President Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd) on Thursday, in which he declared that the old N500 and N1000 notes were no longer legal tender, while the old N200 notes would remain legal tender until April 10.
The President’s announcement sparked anger across many cities, leading to protests on Friday. Demonstrators blocked the Benin‑Ore‑Sagamu Expressway, halting vehicular traffic and chanting solidarity songs. One protester told our correspondent that the President’s broadcast implied he was behind the Central Bank’s action, which had caused a scarcity of new notes. “We the masses are suffering, people are hungry. We are protesting to show our grievances; there will be no movement of vehicles here today. What Buhari said yesterday shows he directed the CBN to make Nigerians suffer over the scarcity of new notes and the rejection of old notes by the banks,” he said.
Another protester, identified as Ibrahim, argued that the demonstration was necessary to make the President understand that his speech was unacceptable and should be reversed. “The Supreme Court ordered the CBN to extend the deadline for the old notes, but the President himself disobeyed that order, and Nigerians are suffering and dying. For the President to tell us that the N500 and N1000 notes are no longer legal tender while new notes are not being made available is not acceptable to us.”
Photo credit: Peter Dada.
Comments are closed for this story.