Naira Scarcity Forces APC To Suspend Campaign Rallies In Lagos, Ogun

The ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) has suspended its campaign rallies in Lagos and Ogun States in the wake of social unrest over the scarcity of Naira.

Ogun State Governor, Dapo Abiodun, and spokesman of the Lagos APC, Seye Oladejo, made the announcement in separate statements after irate youths took to the streets of Abeokuta, the Ogun capital, in protest against scarcity of cash in the country.

“As your government that is compassionate about the welfare of its people, we suspended our rallies as a means of showing empathy with the people and we have also taken further steps by engaging critical stakeholders in the banking sector, which is not limited to top officials of @cenbank in Ogun State and Bankers’ Committee so as to ameliorate the suffering of our people,” Governor Abiodun tweeted on Tuesday.

The Lagos APC similarly announced that it was suspending its campaigns as a result of the suffering occasioned by the cash scarcity.

According to Oladejo, it would be insensitive for the party to continue with its campaigns amid the biting situation.

The party called for a review of the Naira redesign policy to ameliorate the suffering of ordinary Nigerians and avoid jeopardizing preparations for the forthcoming general election.

Earlier, the leadership of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) visited the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) governor to register complaints of its service providers to the apex bank over the Naira redesign policy.

The CBN had announced the policy with an implementation date of January 31, 2023. But due to pressure from the public, the apex bank extended the deadline by 10 days terminating at February 10, 2023.