On Friday, the scarcity of new Naira notes, which has been a subject of discussion across major towns and cities in Nigeria, took another dimension when customers took to major streets in Ibadan, the Oyo State capital, to protest.
Similar protests on the new Naira scarcity have also erupted in Edo, Kaduna, Katsina and Kano States, among others.
Bank customers in Ibadan have been finding it difficult to withdraw money.
The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) had a few weeks ago introduced the newly redesigned N200, N500 and N1000 denominations across the country.
The apex bank had also directed commercial banks to fill their Automated Teller Machines (ATMs) with the newly redesigned Naira notes.
The CBN also gave 31st January, 2023 as the deadline for the exchange of the old bank notes before extending same to 10th February.
It has also directed commercial banks to pay customers the new Naira notes over the counter.
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Majority of the bank customers who went to withdraw money on Friday at various banks in Ibadan could not do so,
This sparked protests in some parts of Ibadan.
Some of the areas where the customers are currently protesting are Agodi Gate, Idi Ape and Iwo Road.
The protesters burnt several tyres as they registered their displeasure.
A resident of Agodi who spoke with newsmen, said that the protesters were protesting their inability to withdraw money from the banks.
“Protests are currently ongoing at Gate and Iwo Road as I speak with you. They are burning tyres now,” he said.
A resident of Iwo Road also confirmed that the protest is ongoing.
“Yes. There is a protest here. People are currently protesting at Iwo Road over inability to collect their money from banks,” he also said.