Laleye Dipo in Minna
The Niger State Government has said that the cashless policy introduced by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has led to the closure of some shops and markets in urban and rural areas in the state.
The government, in a statement Thursday, said: “Governor Abubakar Sani Bello is deeply moved by the attendant consequences of the policy especially the scarcity of naira notes which has been affecting the citizens negatively.”
The statement, signed by the Secretary to the State Government (SSG), Alhaji Ahmed Ibrahim Matane, explained that: “Government is aware that the situation has been the most difficult experience in the last few days as many Nigerlites have encountered challenges in going about the process.
“The shortage of cash in circulation and lack of the newly redesigned notes has resulted in the closure of rural markets and several shops in the urban cities thereby causing hardship to the people.
“The state government is working round the clock to mitigate the hardships so that normalcy would resume.”
Matane, in the statement, further revealed that while government like most Nigerlites believes that the public is facing untold hardship following the policy, it passionately appealed to the federal government to find a lasting solution to the problem being faced by the people.
The statement said Governor Abubakar Sani Bello has sympathized with the citizens over the prevailing hardship as a result of the policy of the apex bank and urged the federal government to revisit the policy.
