The Special Adviser of Media and Publicity to the President, Femi Adesina, has disclosed that the ongoing naira scarcity has also affected him.
Adesina made the disclosure in an article ‘Living on shoestring budget’, adding that he has been surviving on N20,000 every week since the cashlessness.
According to him, he and others left for a journey that would take them to Bauchi, Lagos, Senegal, Katsina, Kano, and Jigawa from January 23 to January 31.
“I didn’t want to be like the unwise cripple, who had been told that war was approaching, but who stayed put in the same spot.
“So I parked everything I had, every dime, and sent it to the bank. I didn’t want my modest funds to become something fit only for the museum.
“The Central Bank of Nigeria later secured a ten days extension of the deadline from President Muhammadu Buhari, which has now been further extended by a Supreme Court ruling.
“But it has not changed the fact that I’ve been spending the sum of N20,000 for one week, and I’m still spending it. Shoestring budget?
“Yes, you are right. That’s what it is.”
Speaking further, Adesina revealed that his banker laughed when he told him about his plight.
“After seeing that I was serious, he said the best he could do was get N20,000.00 for me, through the Automated Teller Machine, which was his own entitlement for the day.
“Well, beggars can’t be choosers, and half bread, as they say, is better than none.
“I sent my driver to collect the money, and promptly cancelled all the engagements I had lined up for the weekend.
“When you stay in your house, watching football and making yourself happy, you need not spend much money, if at all,” he added.