Okowa urges for calm amid Naira scarcity protests

Gov. Ifeanyi Okowa of Delta has appealed to Nigerians to remain calm, amidst scarcity of the new naira notes.

Okowa, the Vice-Presidential Candidate of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), made the appeal in a statement issued by the Commissioner for Information, Mr Charles Aniagwu, on Wednesday in Asaba.

The governor’s appeal came on the heels of protests by some citizens of the state at Orhuwhorun community in Udu Local Government Area, where a bank’s ATM gallery was reportedly torched.

While calling on the people to remain calm, he also appealed to Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and the monetary authorities to take further step in increasing the cash supply in the system.

“We appeal to our brothers and sisters across the state to keep calm, in spite of the current travails they are going through as a result of the scarcity of naira notes in the country.

“As a government, we are not unaware of your sufferings but we appeal to you to be patient with the monetary authorities, as they take steps to improve on the money supply in the country.

“We are very much aware of your pains and concerns, but burning down a bank that employs our people will not augur well for us as a nation, even as it will not also solve the problem but further compound the situation.

“Once again we appeal to you all to sheath your swords while we continue to engage the CBN to ensure more funds are released to the banks in the country,” Okowa said.