A coalition of Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) on Tuesday blocked the main entrance gate to the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) office complex in Benin to protest the scarcity of new naira notes in the country.

The protesters chanted solidarity songs, calling on the bank to make the new naira notes available to reduce the sufferings of Nigerians.

BRANDPOWER reports that the protest caused traffic gridlock around Akpakpava, forcing motorists to negotiate their ways through the adjoining streets.

The leader of the protest, Mr Agho Omobude, said that the cash crunch had brought untold sufferings to millions of Nigerians.

According to him, it is inhuman to continue to allow Nigerians to remain in this suffering.

Briefing newsmen at the end of a closed-door meeting with the management of the bank, Omobude said the bank had shown understanding with the group’s concern.

He said: “We are tired of the crisis the shortage of the new naira notes is causing.

“We reached an agreement with the CBN to disburse the smaller denominations across the counter, with each customer getting N20,000.

“The bank management also said that the new notes would be made available and disbursed across the counter and Automated Teller Machines in all the banks.

“They have also accepted to include the CSOs in the monitoring team set up by the apex bank to ensure monies given to banks are disbursed,” Omobude said.