Abuja Residents Decry Continued Scarcity of Redesigned Notes.
Residents of the federal capital territory (FCT) have continued to decry the Scarcity of the newly redesigned Naira notes around the capital territory. The frustration of the residents is coming on the heels of the rejection of the soon-to-be phased-out notes by operators in the informal sector of the territory.
The extension of the deadline for the circulation of the old notes did not help in abating the scarcity of the new naira notes as Abuja residents have continued to spend hours on end in search of the new notes
The frustration of the Abuja Residents is further worsened by the non-availability of the new notes at the various automated teller machines (ATMs) of licensed deposit money banks (DMBs). Most of the banks’ ATMs have ceased to dispense the new notes while the few banks that pay out the new notes are crowded with desperate members of the public who are desirous of getting the new notes.
Perhaps, in order not to fall foul of the regulations of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), most banks were busy receiving deposits and declined to pay out the old notes. When True Vision visited some banks in the capital territory, many angry and frustrated customers were seen clustering around ATMs with the hope the machines would be loaded with the new notes.
At the Federal Secretariat Complex, many people, mostly civil servants were seen lamenting their inability to withdraw cash from the various ATMs located within the complex. The rowdy crowd was seen at the few ATMs located at the complex with the hope that cash would be loaded into the machines.
At the busy Ademola Adetokumbo Street, Wuse II of the city center, crowds were seen clustering around a few banks that were dispensing the new notes. Adeniran Adeyemi lamented that he has spent more than five hours at the ATM without any hope of getting the new notes.
Adeyemi who did not hide his frustration was emphatic that the new currency initiative has not helped anybody wondering why Nigerians should be subjected to all manner of hardship and have to queue for everything, from fuel and the cash that one has worked for.
Mrs. Onafueruki in her reaction at one of the banks located around Wuse II described the scarcity of the new note as “very frustrating”. Onafueruki said that there is nothing wrong with redesigning of the currency, however, urged the relevant authorities to make the new notes available to the people.
Abubakar Tijani, an Abuja resident, described the scarcity of the new notes as not only “frustrating but tragic” as people spend hours on end without any hope of getting the new notes. Tijani urged the CBN governor to look into the situation even as he noted that the N20,000 withdrawal limit is not enough to sustain Nigerians.
Meanwhile, most informal operators have already started to reject the old notes on the grounds that it would be difficult for them to exchange it with new ones at the banks. This even as most Point of Sale (PoS) operators have ran out of cash and the few that have are now charging a high premium.
Click the link below to watch video on
