Several parts of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) have been hit by paucity of the Naira as Christmas approaches.
The cash crunch which has been on in the nation’s capital and other parts of the country for about a week, has resulted in long queues at several banks and Automated Teller Machines (ATM) locations.
Checks by Persecondnews as at the time of filing this report revealed that several banks at Wuse 2 area of Abuja and Kubwa, a suburb of FCT as well as in other areas have restricted withdrawals to customers to only N20,000 across the counter.
Also, many ATMs are not dispensing cash, while the few ones dispensing are also disbursing have been programmed to dispense limited amounts.
Persecondnews observed that Point of Sales (POS) agents are already taking advantage of the situation to make brisk business as they are charging between N200 and N300 per N5000 withdrawal, between N400 and N500 for withdrawals of N10,000 and N700 to N1,000 for withdrawals from N25,000 and above.
A POS operator, Eunice Mark, who spoke with Persecondnews, revealed that they increased the charges because they spend a lot on transport fare looking for where to get cash.
”We are the most affected with this naira scarcity because we withdraw bulk money. Most of us withdraw between N200,000 to N400,000 or even N500,000 a day for our business.
“So, imagine with this withdrawal limit of N20,000, how are we going to cope? We have to queue at different ATMs and also go to different branches of our banks just to gather some money for business. In all these you will spend transport fare,” she said.
An official of First Bank, who pleaded not to be identified, told Persecondnews that the withdrawal limits are due to cash shortage.
According to the official, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has not been supplying banks with cash, hence the cash shortage.
A customer at Polaris Bank, Chris Echono, who also spoke with Persecondnews expressed his frustration over the situation, saying “this is not a good time for the country to be experiencing cash shortage.”
”How can we be having cash scarcity now with Christmas by the corner? This is not a good time because people need money to buy things for the yuletide celebration. A lot of people will also be travelling soon.
“I came to withdraw N100,000 and the bank said they can only give me N20,000, that they have shortage of cash. I didn’t have a choice but to accept it thinking I can augment it from the ATM.
“I went to use the ATM, and it stopped dispensing after I withdrew N10,000. I tried withdrawing the second time and it rejected my card. Now I have to look for POS and use. This is really frustrating,” he lamented.
Meanwhile, the CBN authorities are yet to give a comprehensive explanation for the cash shortage being experienced across the country.
Leave a comment