Nigeria’s Lagos-Ibadan Expressway has been thrown into chaos, as protests broke out over the scarcity of naira currency notes.
The protests, which began on Friday morning, have resulted in a gridlock that has spread from the Mowe area of Ogun State to the Long Bridge area of Arepo, leaving vehicular movement almost at a standstill.
According to a source in the Mowe area, youths in the area have taken to the road and blocked it in protest. The protesters are demanding the availability of old naira notes, which they claim are easier to use than the new notes, and have been chanting “Old naira notes” in a video that was sent to Investors King.
The police have been called in to manage the situation, and there is a heavy police presence along the expressway. Despite this, many vehicles have been turning back in an attempt to escape the chaos ahead.
The protests have resulted in violent clashes between the protesters and the police, with reports that the protesters resisted police intervention and threatened to set the police station in the area ablaze. On the popular Lagos-Ikorodu expressway, fighting also erupted in some areas due to the scarcity of the new naira notes, resulting in chaos and attacks on commuters.
The scarcity of naira currency notes has been a major issue in Nigeria in recent times, with the government’s policy to phase out old naira notes and replace them with new ones causing hardship for many Nigerians. The President, Muhammadu Buhari, had recently announced that the old N500 and N1,000 notes were no longer legal tender in the country, extending the validity of the old N200 note for 60 days, till April 10, 2023.