Major Nigerian cities are struggling with cash shortages due to a new regulation that requires the exchange of old notes for new ones.

PHOTO | COURTESY people queue to exchange notes

Due to a scarcity of new notes, banks have restricted access to cash and ATM withdrawals, and some business owners refuse to accept old naira, causing long lines, angering customers, and disrupting business.

The unrest in some parts of the country, such as southwest Ibadan, Benin City and southern Delta State, comes at a time when the country is preparing for one of its most contested presidential elections on the 25th of February.

A local news station shared a video of young men burning tyres in the streets on the outskirts of Warri, Delta State. According to Edo State governor's spokesman Crusoe Osagie, protests erupted in Benin City, also in the south, after police prevented "hoodlums" from attacking the central bank's local office.

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PHOTO | COURTESY protests

Crusoe Osagie blamed the unrest on politically driven actions by the ruling party All Progressives Congress (APC) party, which used discontent to sow chaos in the state governed by the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

The APC did not respond to the allegations. However, during the next week's election campaign, the APC and PDP have repeatedly blamed each other for cash shortages. Disgruntled customers also burned tyres and blocked streets in Ibadan, southwest Nigeria, according to police and residents. 

Protests erupted in certain sections of Ibadan, the state capital, but were quickly put down. According to residents, the unrest began in the Dupe, Mokola, Ogunpa, Apata, and Iwo Road areas when angry account holders began taking to the streets because they couldn't access their money or exchange old notes for new ones.

Buhari is completing his second term as the president of Nigeria when the country is experiencing increased insecurity. Some of the contestants in the February presidential elections are Peter Obi of the Labour Party (LP), Bola Tinubu of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Atiku Abubakar of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and Rabiu Kwankwaso of the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP). one of them will be taking over the country whose economy is on the verge of collapse, and insecurity is through the roof.