Residents of Ibadan, Oyo State, have taken to the streets in protest of the hardship brought on by the switch in naira notes and the increase in fuel prices.
Late last year, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) unveiled newly designed N200, N500, and N1,000 notes and set a deadline of January 31 for the phase-out of the previous notes. After the reaction to the policy, the deadline was later extended by 10 days.
Despite the extension, it is difficult for Nigerians to obtain the old notes because they are in short supply.
Additionally, the cost of fuel at the pump has skyrocketed throughout the nation, with many consumers paying as much as N500 per litre for it. Many locations have seen a resurgence of lines that snake back onto major roadways.
As a result of the circumstance, some citizens of the Oyo State capital took to the streets to call on the government to take immediate action.
As the demonstrators blocked the entrances, the roads leading to Ibadan's Iwo neighbourhood were deserted. Additionally, there were roadside burnfires, and reports indicate that one of the targets was a commercial bank.
“People are fed up and need relief,” one of the protesters, Tayo Adetunji, told Channels Television.
“The government in power should give us relief,” he added.
He claimed that “the system is no more working in Nigeria. The money that we suffered for to collect it is now a problem”.
The government, he pleaded, should allow Nigerians to continue the usage of the old notes to alleviate the plight of the people.
Another protester simply identified as Taofeek, accused the government of being insensitive to the plight of Nigerians, lamenting the hardships occasioned by the hike in fuel prices and the naira swap.