Tuesday April 11, marked the lapsing of the two-week deadline given by the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) to call a nationwide sit-at-home strike if the stifling cash crunch which came in the wake of Nigeria’s currency swap exercise did not ease visibly.
The deadline having lapsed midnight Tuesday, the strike would have commenced Wednesday April 12, but the NLC has kept mum, indicating it is well satisfied with the stepped up infusion of cash into the economy by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) in collaboration with the deposit money banks.
The two week suspension window given by the NLC has seen some relief in cash flow, as customers who thronged commercial banks and ATMs across the country received their cash in incremental volumes, larger than the previous paltry sums of between N2,000 and N5,000 reports indicate.
The story has however not been all rosy, as there were periods when the volume of cash that could be drawn from the banks by customers rose or fell, according to availability but reports indicate a marked improvement from the period three weeks ago and before.
The banks have over the period, also been besieged by customers seeking to resolve backlogs of failed online transactions, especially transfers. The failed transactions resulted from a rush to online modes to bypass cash shortages. This resulted in the overloading of fragile infrastructure which then caused transaction failures.
The sit at home strike planned by the NLC was in protest against the cash crunch, intermittent fuel scarcity and electricity tariff increases.
The strike was initially scheduled to kick-off on Wednesday March 29 but was suspended for two weeks for the NLC to observe and assess an easing of the situation as promised by the CBN.
Joe Ajaero, the President of the NLC had said on Tuesday March 28, that after briefings from the NLC’s state councils in the 36 states and Abuja, the body had suspended the initial stay-at-home directive issued to workers the previous week.
Ajaero however affirmed that the NLC would resume the planned protest if naira notes became unavailable to Nigerians by the end of two weeks, culminating midnight Tuesday April, 11.
Ajaero had at an earlier meeting with Godwin Emefiele, the CBN Governor and Chris Ngige, the Minister of Labour, expressed satisfaction with CBN’s infusion of cash into the economy.
He said Labour no longer envisaged a problem since the CBN had started sending cash to the banks and Nigerians were accessing their money.
The previous Monday, Nigerians started getting some relief from the cash crunch which followed the invalidation of the old N1,000 and N500 denomination of currency notes in the wake of a currency redesign exercise by the CBN which took effect on January 31.
The cash flow relief, followed substantial infusion of the said old N1,000 and N500 notes to the commercial banks from the vaults of the CBN and express instructions that the commercial banks should open to customers on Saturdays and Sundays and rapidly dispense the notes over the counter and through Automated Teller Machines (ATMs).
The said currency notes previously invalidated by the CBN had been revalidated by the Supreme Court in a ruling but an awkward silence and tepid messages from the authorities had the publics apparently confused and in doubt.
This led to hesitance and outright rejection of the bills, until the CBN and the Federal Government made more explicit statements acceding to the authority of the Supreme Court ruling on the matter.
