The Federal Government has been issued a seven-day ultimatum by the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) to address the current currency crunch and fuel scarcity in parts of the country or risk a nationwide industrial action at the expiration of the ultimatum.
Africa Today News, New York reports that the strike notice was given by the President of the NLC, Joe Ajero after the meeting of the central working committee of the Congress on Monday.
Ajero, who bemoaned the hardship faced by Nigerian workers owing to the naira redesigned policy of the Federal Government and the lingering fuel scarcity in parts of the country, said the union has been pushed to the wall.
Ajero said, ‘The Congress wishes to inform the Federal Government that we will no longer keep quiet to this issue of perennial fuel scarcity and arbitrary increase on petroleum products.
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‘The NLC is giving the Federal Government of Nigeria, the agencies of government including the Central Bank of Nigeria and other banking institutions seven working days to address the issue of the cash crunch. If they fail to do this at the expiration of the seven days, Congress is directing all workers in the country to stay at home because it has become very difficult to access N1 to board vehicles to our workplace.’
Meanwhile, following several back and forths, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has finally confirmed that old ₦200, ₦500, and ₦1,000 notes will remain legal tender until December 31, 2023.
The apex bank’s Acting Director of Corporate Communications, Isa AbdulMumin, announced this in a statement on Monday.
AbdulMumin stated that the CBN took the decision based on the Supreme Court’s ruling of March 3, 2022.
‘Accordingly, the CBN met with the Bankers’ Committee and has directed that the old ₦200, ₦500, and ₦1000 banknotes remain legal tender alongside the redesigned banknotes till December 31, 2023.