Cross Udo, Abuja
The organised labour yesterday said it was not satisfied with the level of compliance by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) on the availability of cash in banks.

The organised labour said though, there was some level of improvement in making naira notes available through banks, but it was not yet satisfied because many Nigerians are still finding it difficult to get the naira notes.

Consequently, the organised labour has extended the deadline given to the nation’s apex bank, the CBN, to ensure the availability of naira notes for two weeks.

Briefing journalists in Abuja, President of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), Comrade Joe Ajaero, flanked by his Trade Union Congress (TUC) counterpart, Comrade Festus Osifo, said some banks did not comply with the directives that cash should be made available without stress.

Ajaero said that the organised labour will not shut down the CBN branches on Wednesday but was ready for a long-distance race as regards the struggle to ensure that the sufferings are reduced.

He said after its NEC, NLC doubted the sustainability of the compliance level by banks, adding that the two weeks extension of the deadline was to monitor compliance.

According to him, some of the commercial banks are getting empty, and some of them did not open for transactions on Saturday and Sunday as agreed.

He called on the management of the CBN to play their regulatory role to ensure that the commercial banks comply with the directive.

He said committees were set up at the national level and in all the states to coordinate the level of compliance.

Ajaero said, “A day or two after we briefed you here the CBN deputy governors came here and we had a fruitful meeting with them. And we gave them proposals on how best to solve the problem that, the CBN caused.

“I think immediately after that they sprang into action, and they have done considerably averagely well. Yesterday again, we had a conciliatory meeting at the Ministry of Labour between the CBN and the Ministry of Labour with the NLC and there we agreed that at the end of our NEC meeting today (Tuesday), we were going to make pronouncements on the situation so far, and we have been meeting since morning at our NEC level.

“With reports coming from all the states of the Federation, and local governments on the level of compliance of banks. And we’re happy to tell you that yes, there is compliance by CBN.

“For the NLC, after its NEC meeting, doubted the sustainability of that compliance and we don’t want to be calling you back after two days for another action and we held that we have to monitor this compliance for the next two weeks to see whether it is sustainable because they have rushed to move money to commercial banks, and some of those commercial banks are getting empty again.

“Queues are returning in some of them. So it will be very naive for Congress to horridly call up the action whereas we’re not shutting down tomorrow.

“We would want to loosen up for another two weeks, with committees set up at the national level and in all the states of the Federation to coordinate the level of compliance. Some banks equally didn’t open for the weekend and by this press briefing.

“We equally wish to advise the CBN to play the role of regulators should play their regulatory role because they can sanction banks that are not compliant. People are hurrying to withdraw money from their accounts, one wouldn’t know the level at which CBN is pushing money to the banks.

“The first and second days, they say they pushed about the money that they were pushing per week they were pushing it daily I wouldn’t know whether they’re still doing that today.

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“Clothe that has been dirty it is not easy to just wash it only once. So they have constrained the banking sector. Nigerians have suffered so much that even those that have gone to withdraw 10 Naira are afraid of bringing it out. In case this will start again.

“And if there is no sustainable policy and assurance that if you spend this money you can see go to the bank and withdraw. The whole panicky situation will continue so the NLC and TUC have decided to equally allow tomorrow to pass without any shutdown or picketing but to watch the next two weeks.

“After two weeks from today, the NEC of the two centres will meet again and decide whether the CBN has actually complied and whether their compliance is sustainable to drive the economy.”

On the persistent fuel scarcity and increase in pump price as well as the increase in electricity tariff, he said, “Those are things that if you have been in this country for over 10 years, those actions in progress. The issue of the fuel problem and the electricity tariff is an action in progress. Almost every week they increase the tariff. State by state, they are selling PMS at different prices.

“This is the action on this issue of CBN policy. It is an action that is even affecting every other action. If you move to some filling stations now, queues have started reducing because people didn’t have cash and you want them to buy PMS. If you go to filling stations, you see some people doing transfer the queue, the filling station and the ones that have cash then, the line was just moving and people that are using the POS and whatever.

“They will transfer the same network, so, it was part of the problem. Having taken care of this problem. Then we need to monitor you know the level of availability and distribution of these products. We can’t log them together now, at this point, it will be wrong. And if you have two trees that fell, you have to remove one on top, to enable you to access the other”

On his part, the TUC President, Osifo said, “We have agreed on, we are completely aligned that we have to sustain these push. We have to sustain this pressure for another two weeks because when the report came across the various things, yes, there has been some level of compliance and as he has said as well, so bank refused to comply or refused to open and they did not an open weekend.

“We hereby also call on the CBN and also encourage them that they should sustain this action because the quantum of money they need now is even much more than the money that they would have required if this panic has not come in because on average Nigeria today will withdraw money and when he withdraws the money you’ll be spending it little by little.

“They need to pump much more money into the Nigerian economy. If they have withdrawn N2trn or N3trn they need to even put much more than that for that confidence to be restored. If that confidence has been restored and we have returned to normalcy, then they can now go back to start monitoring and using all their fiscal tools or their monetary tools as he deems fit.

“So completely in this struggle, we have moved it for another two weeks and we continuously monitor across the length and breadth of the country we will review after then and also come back to you thank you so much. We have to appreciate.”