Banks and Nigerians blame CBN as naira scarcity deepens hardship
By Jeph Ajobaju, Chief Copy Editor
Banks and citizens are blaming the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) now headed by Yemi Cardoso for the latest naira scarcity, which harks back to the Godwin Emefiele era at the apex bank, and deepens Bola Tinubu’s Renewed Hardship.
Nigerians are again going through the harrowing cash crunch experienced between December 2022 and March 2023 when Emefiele under the guise of redesigning some banknotes withdrew all old notes from circulation but refused to inject back in sufficient old or redesigned notes.
Emefiele’s callous mismanagement of the naira redesign policy crippled social and economic life nationwide but contributed to why Tinubu suspended him in June this year, with citizens happy to see his back from the CBN.
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) is currently trying him in court over alleged fraudulent dealings while in office.
From Calabar to Kano, Point of Sale (PoS) operators have raised charges for withdrawals, cashing in on the failure of banks to dispense cash through automated teller machines (ATMs) and over the counter.
In Lagos last week, the branch of First Bank on Allen Avenue paid out between N20,000 and N50,000 over the counter, blaming the CBN for low cash supply. The ATMs did not dispense cash.
This Wednesday morning, the branch paid out only N5,000 to each customer over the counter. The lone ATM in the building and the four outside were dry.
Many other banks have also resorted to cash rationing.
Some banks have completely run of cash in Lagos the mega city, the most expensive in Nigeria, with customers unable to make withdrawals through ATMs or over the counter.
“I am in the habit of making withdrawals from the ATM at weekends, particularly on Sundays. This is because there is less congestion.
“But on today (yesterday), I was unable to obtain cash from any of the bank ATMs I visited on Lagos Mainland,” Charles Ogundipe, a customer, told Vanguard.
“I first went to the UBA Matori branch in Papa Ajao, Mushin, where I gathered that the ATMs were not dispensing. I was advised by the bank’s security men to check back around noon.
“I went to the nearby UBA branch on Ladipo St, but the story was the same, no cash in the ATMs.
“There are no [fewer] than 10 different bank branches on Ladipo Street, Mushin Local Government Area of Lagos State. I visited them one by one. I visited the branches of GTB, Fidelity, Access Bank, FirstBank, FCMB, Stanbic IBTC, Zenith Bank, and Keystone Bank.
“But none of their ATMs were dispensing cash.
“I went back to the UBA Matori branch just after 12 noon, only to be told that the situation had not changed. It was the same story at the UBA Ilupeju branch.
“As I drove around moving from the Ilupeju area to Anthony, down to Gbagada, and back, I stopped at each bank branch on my way. All the ATMs were out of cash.
“For more than four hours that I tried to obtain cash from any of the banks I visited. I was not successful. I had no option than to patronise a mobile PoS operator at a petrol station.”
Another bank customer who declined to disclose his name recounted how “I was at the Ilasa branch of Ecobank on Friday to withdraw cash. But I was informed that cash withdrawal is limited to N20,000.”
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Banks blame CBN
A senior bank official lamented the new naira scarcity and rationing are due to inadequate cash supply from the CBN, according to reporting by Vanguard.
Said he: “At my branch, we have five ATMs and we used to load about N8 million in each machine. But now, we load only one machine with N2 million and sometimes N1.5 million which customers withdraw in about one hour.
“Most of the cash loaded into the ATMs are from cash deposits of customers. This is because we barely get cash supply from our hub. I believe that the low supply from the hub is also because they don’t get supply from the CBN.”
CBN shifts blame on banks and panic withdrawals by bank customers
The CBN itself has shifted the blame on large volume withdrawals of cash from CBN branches by banks, and also cited panic withdrawals by bank customers.
“The attention of the CBN has been drawn to reports of alleged scarcity of cash at banks, ATMs, PoS and BDCs in some major cities across the country,” the CBN said in a statement.
“Our findings reveal that the seeming cash scarcity in some locations is due largely to high volume withdrawals from the CBN branches by DMBs [deposit money banks] and panic withdrawals by customers from the ATMs.
“While we note the concerns of Nigerians on the availability of cash for financial transactions, we wish to assure the public that there is sufficient stock of currency notes for economic activities in the country.
“The branches of the CBN across the country are also working to ensure the seamless circulation of cash in their respective states of operation.”
The CBN advised the public against panic withdrawals as there is sufficient stock of banknotes to facilitate economic activities, and also counselled alternative modes of payment to reduce pressure on physical cash.