Nigerians face naira scarcity again, as bank ATMs don’t dispense cash
By Jeph Ajobaju, Chief Copy Editor
Nigerians are back in the hardship of naira scarcity as the automated teller machines (ATMs) of banks in Abuja and Lagos fail to dispense cash and customers cannot make withdrawals over the counter beyond a certain limit.
People are scared of a scenario repeating the harrowing cash crunch experienced between December 2022 and March 2023 when former Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Godwin Emefiele withdrew old all banknotes in circulation but refused to inject into the system sufficient redesigned notes.
Emefiele’s callous mismanagement of the naira redesign policy crippled social and economic life across the country. It contributed to why he lost his job in June this year, with Nigerians happy to see his back from the apex bank.
On December 4, the ATMs at the branch of First Bank on Allen Avenue in Lagos did not dispense cash and customers were paid only N20,000 over the counter. The bank claimed it had no cash.
The ATMs also did not work on December 7 and the bank paid no more than N50,000 over the counter to customers.
And despite announcement by new CBN Governor Yemi Cardoso that bank accounts not linked with National Identity Numbers (NINs) will be deactivated by April 2024, First Bank officials said they could not make the link because the CBN has not officially issued a circular to that effect.
Customers not being able to link their NINs with their accounts early will lead to a stampede that will ground the system if the linkage is delayed till around the deadline.
__________________________________________________________________
Related articles:
Banks can now pay diaspora remittances in naira, CBN directs
Fintechs warn cashless policy may erode trust in banks
Naira scarcity balloons epayment transactions value to N135.52tr
__________________________________________________________________
Naira notes scarce in Abuja for 7 days running
UP North, residents of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) are equally experiencing naira scarcity as the ATMs of no fewer than seven banks in the AYA area of Abuja failed to dispense cash on Thursday, per reporting by Daily Post.
This has been the case for about a week.
Point of Sales (POS) operators line up in their numbers in front of those banks to make brisk business.
One operator, who identified himself as Samuel, lamented the ATMs have not been dispensing cash at certain hours of the day.
“Since we entered December these ATMs have not been dispensing as much. There is naira scarcity and most likely it may be because we are approaching December, but only CBN can explain this new scarcity,” he said.
The CBN has, however, directed banks to circulate both old and redesigned naira notes concurrently until further notice, based on the Supreme Court judgment that lifted the December 31 deadline for the expiration of N200, N500, and N1,000 notes.
“To avoid doubt, the Supreme Court ordered that the old versions of N200, N500 and N1000 banknotes, alongside the redesigned versions, shall continue to be legal tender,” the CBN told banks.
“Accordingly, in line with Section 20(5) of the CBN Act 2007, all banknotes issued by the Central Bank of Nigeria will remain legal tender indefinitely.”
 of banks in Abuja and Lagos fail to dispense cash and customers){kind=link}