Naira Crisis: LASU bursary official dies on queue at bank

An official of the Lagos State University (LASU), Ojo, slumped and died on Monday while on a queue at a branch of Wema Bank located inside the institution’s main campus in Ojo area of Lagos.

The deceased, Johnson Adesola, was a chief executive officer in charge of accounts at the university’s bursary department and the faculty officer in charge of finance at the institution’s Faculty of Law.

According to witnesses, who craved anonymity for fear of sanctions by the university authorities, Mr Adesola had left his office at about 11a.m. on Monday to join the long queue for an opportunity to withdraw a maximum of N5,000 as permitted by the financial institution.

“However, less than 20 minutes after he joined the queue, he slumped. The bank branch was close to the university’s health centre and people quickly rushed him to the centre but he was pronounced dead,” one of the sources told PREMIUM TIMES.

Meanwhile, the university has confirmed the development but, however, blamed those who reported that it was the institution’s bursar or one of his deputies that died.

According to the acting head of the university’s Centre for Information and Public Relations, Olaniyi Jeariogbe, the development is a sad occurrence, and “management mourns the deceased.”

Mr Jeariogbe said the deceased was brought in dead to the university’s health centre and there was nothing “the centre could do to bring him back to life.”

He said: “It was a rude shock to all of us and particularly his colleagues who saw him just before he stepped out to join the queue for the withdrawal. We are saddened by the development.

“But let me use this medium to clarify, especially those carrying fake news that the bursar or deputy bursar was deceased. Our bursar is Mr Saheed Olayinka, who has about four deputies and they are all in good condition as I speak to you. People should always confirm their reports from verified sources before jumping to conclusions.”

He said wrong identities could create further problems, “as relatives may have overreacted before the true stories are told.”

He said the university will make an official statement on the development as soon as possible.

Nigeria has in the last few weeks been thrown into crisis due to the difficulties being experienced by the people in their quest to access their money saved in banks.

The development is a result of the redesigned currency policy of the country’s apex financial institution- the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).

CBN, in 2022, announced the currency redesign policy and gave 31 January deadline for the N200, N500, and N1,000 old notes to remain legal tender in the country.

Following outcries by many Nigerians including state governors and the leadership of the ruling political party- All Progressives Congress (APC), the CBN announced a deadline extension of an additional 10 days while also approving the CBN to continue to accept the deposit of the designated old naira notes.

However, the new notes in circulation have been found to be grossly inadequate compared to the old notes withdrawn from circulation. And in response to the challenges, protesting Nigerians have continued to descend on bank branches and public facilities, burning some of them down.

Just on Monday, three branches of different banks were vandalised and razed in Sagamu, Ogun State, South-west Nigeria, while other public facilities were also torched by the violent protesters.

But some state governors have mandated their residents to continue to trade in the old currency notes, defying President Muhammadu Buhari’s directive that only the old N200 notes should be released back into circulation and be spent concurrently with the new notes.

Sources confirmed that the late official joined the university in 1986 as a Typist II, and rose through the ranks to become a chief executive in charge of accounts at the bursary.

PREMIUM TIMES learnt that the deceased’s wife also works at the same bursary unit on the campus.

“He was expected to retire in 2024. His wife also works in the same unit. So, it was just an unfortunate incident,” another source said.