By: Adeolu Adeyemo – Osogbo.
Osun State Governor, Senator Ademola Adeleke on Monday called on the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to henceforth sanction commercial banks engage in hoarding of new naira notes and deprived their customers of the opportunities of having an access to it.
The governor, who made the call while receiving CBN officials in his office in Osogbo, maintained that any financial institution involved in such an anti-people activities, should not be spared of necessary punishment.
According to him, “My people are patient but we should not take their patience for granted. That is why I called for this meeting. Why is the new note not available? Is the supply small or inadequate?” the Governor queried.
He expressed the readiness of his government to partner with the CBN for the currency swap, informing the CBN team that the state is sacrificing a lot to maintain peace and calm frayed nerves.
“The new notes are not available. Even as a State Governor, I don’t have the new notes. You can see how hard it is for our people to access the new currency if their Governor is not getting them. We should not overstretch the cooperation we are enjoying from the citizenry. We are expected as elected and appointed leaders to respond to the needs and aspirations of our people,” the Governor said.
Adeleke decried the increasing shortage of the new notes, explaining that he has been deploying state network to douse tension and ensure safety of banks and the CBN state office.
In his response, the CBN state director, Oluyemi Adeyemi, commended the state Governor for his proactive steps that has saved the state from naira-related riots.
He however said that, “On our part, we are working hard to make the new notes available. Let me say that the CBN has issued queries to some banks. I assure Nigerians that we are working hard to make the new notes available.”
“We must thank Mr Governor for reaching out to the people, for diffusing tension, for keeping the state peaceful. We aware of the day Mr Governor stopped some angry youth from demonstrating and from attacking the CBN office.”
The meeting set up a monitoring mechanism between the state government and the CBN to ensure allocated new notes get to the populace.
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