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[JUST IN] Cash Scarcity: NLC, CBN Meet In Abuja

Published

2 years ago

March 23, 2023

Editor

…We Pushed In N20bn On Thursday–CBN

In less than 24 hours after the leadership of the Nigeria Labour Congress, NLC, directed all its branches and affiliate unions to mobilize members for a shutdown of all the branches of the Central Bank of Nigerian, CBN, across the country, over cash scarcity, the apex bank on Thursday evening met with the NLC at the Labour House Abuja.

Recall that the Comrade Joe Ajaero-led NLC, had on Wednesday while addressing journalists said that activities in all branches of the CBN nationwide and the Abuja headquarters will be shut down on Wednesday next due to the cash crunch in the country.

Comrade Ajaero had advised workers to stockpile food items as the industrial dispute with the CBN will be total.

He said Nigerians have been subjected to untold hardship occasioned by the scarcity of naira notes to attend to medical needs and other areas of need.

It was gathered that the NLC threat to paralyze activities at the CBN necessitated the impromptu meeting which started at about 5 pm on Thursday.

The two man delegation made up of the CBN Deputy Gpvrrnor in charge of operations and the Deputy Governor in charge of Economic Pokicy, told the NLC President that about two billion naira was pushed out on Thursdsy in a bid to address the hardship.

A source privy to the meeting told Vanguard that the CBN promised to ensure that the scarcity of naira notes will come to an end as quickly as possible.

“They said the money they pushed out today is equivalent to the whole money pushed out within the week. They also promised to work day and night starting from this night to ensure that there is enough money in the banks,” the source said.

He further said that the CBN denied the allegation that it was printing money out of the country and that the Governor, Godwin Emefiele has directed that the old naira notes should be made available to customers.

Besides, the source denied the allegation that the old naira notes have been burnt, assuring that there will be remarkable improvement in few days to come.

It was gathered that the NLC President, Comrade Ajaero told the CBN delegation that he was not interested in how much that was pushed out, but only interested in seeing that workers and other Nigerians collect their money in banks without stress..

“The President told them that it does not bother us how much they pushed out, our concern is to see that this hardship comes to a stop.

“He also told them that they should work day and night to solve the problem and will depend on the feedback from the average Nigerians who go to the banks to make withdrawals whether there is improvement before Wednesday next week NLC planned to picket the apex bank ,” the source said.

When contacted, the NLC President, Comrade Ajaero, confirmed the meeting and said that the interest of the leadership is to see that Nigerians are able to withdraw their money devoid of the hardship they are passing through.

“We will only know that they are serious when we see improvement,” he added.

Headline

42 Killed In Israeli Attacks, Says Gaza’s Civil Defense

Published

1 hour ago

August 24, 2025

Editor

Gaza’s civil defence agency reported at least 42 people killed in Israeli attacks on Sunday, as the Israeli army prepared for a new assault on the Palestinian territory’s largest city.

Civil defence spokesman Mahmud Bassal said there had been several air strikes around Gaza City — which the military is gearing up to capture — including one in the Al-Sabra neighbourhood that killed eight people.

Attacks were also reported elsewhere across the territory, he said, with the “total tally currently rising to 42 dead”.

The army did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the figure.

“The situation is extremely dangerous… Each day, each minute, there are bombings, martyrs, death and blood — we can’t take it anymore,” Al-Sabra resident Ibrahim Al-Shurafa told AFP, explaining strikes and shelling were ongoing.

“We don’t know where to go. Death follows us everywhere,” he added.

Media restrictions in Gaza and difficulties in accessing many areas mean AFP is unable to independently verify the tolls and details provided by the civil defence agency or the Israeli military.

The October 2023 Hamas attack on Israel that sparked the war resulted in the deaths of 1,219 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on official figures.

Israel’s offensive has killed at least 62,686 Palestinians, most of them civilians, according to figures from the health ministry in Hamas-run Gaza that the United Nations considers reliable.

AFP

Headline

Venezuela Frees Eight Opposition Leaders

Published

2 hours ago

August 24, 2025

Editor

Venezuelan authorities released eight opposition leaders from jail early Sunday, including a former congressman and two Italian citizens, and granted house arrest to five others, an opposition politician said.

Most of those released had been charged with corruption in opposition-run mayoral offices.

Also set free was Congressman, Amirico de Grazia, detained amid protests that erupted during President Nicolas Maduro’s reelection in 2024.

“Today, several families are once again embracing their loved ones. We know there are many left, and we have not forgotten them; we continue to fight for everyone,” two-time former presidential candidate Henrique Capriles said on X.

Opposition leaders Victor Jurado, Simon Vargas, Arelis Ojeda Escalante, Mayra Castro, Diana Berrio, Gorka Carnevalli, as well as Italian nationals Margarita Assenzo and de Grazia were released, Capriles said.

Nabil Maalouf, Valentin Gutierrez Pineda, Rafael Ramirez, Pedro Guanipa, and David Barroso were placed under house arrest.

The Italian government confirmed the release of de Grazia and Assenzo, who must appear in court to clarify the conditions of their release. It also vowed to continue working on securing the release of other detained Italians.

“We have always said, and we maintain it: we will talk to whomever we need to talk to so that there is not a single political prisoner in our Venezuela!” Capriles added.

AFP

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Russia, Ukraine Exchange Prisoners Of War, Civilians

Published

2 hours ago

August 24, 2025

Editor

Russia and Ukraine each sent back more prisoners of war on Sunday in the latest in a series of exchanges that have seen hundreds of POWs released this year, the two sides said.

Large-scale prisoner exchanges were the only tangible result of three rounds of talks between Russia and Ukraine in Istanbul between May and July.

They remain one of the few areas of cooperation between the two countries since Russia’s offensive began in 2022.

“On August 24, 146 Russian servicemen were returned from the territory controlled” by Kyiv, the Russian defence ministry said on Telegram.

“In exchange, 146 prisoners of war of the Ukrainian Armed Forces were transferred” to Ukraine, it added. Ukraine did not confirm any figures for the release.

Russia also said that “eight citizens of the Russian Federation—residents of the Kursk region, illegally detained” by Kyiv were also returned.

Ukrainian forces launched a surprise incursion into Russia’s Kursk region in August last year, seizing hundreds of square kilometres (miles) of territory in a major setback for the Kremlin.

Russia deployed thousands of troops from its ally North Korea as part of a counterattack but did not fully reclaim the region until April.

Among the Ukrainians released on Sunday was journalist Dmytro Khyliuk, President Volodymyr Zelensky said.

Khyliuk was kidnapped in the Kyiv region in March 2022. He is finally home in Ukraine,” Zelensky said on social media.

Also freed was former Kherson mayor Volodymyr Mykolayenko, “who spent more than three years in captivity,” Zelensky’s aide Andriy Yermak wrote on X.

“In 2022, he was on the list for return, but Volodymyr voluntarily refused to be exchanged in favour of a seriously ill prisoner with whom he was sharing a cell in a Russian prison,” Yermak said.

AFP