…Assures queues at ATMs will disappear
By Mitchelle Chidinma
THUR. 02 FEB, 2023-theGBJournal| The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Governor, Mr. Godwin Emefiele, has directed deposit money banks (DMBs) to commence the payment of the redesigned Naira notes over the counter, subject to a maximum daily payout limit of N20,000, the apex said in a statement today.
The directive follows what appears to be scarcity of the new Naira notes, and even old notes, in banks across the country and the consequent surge in customer rush to banking halls.
No plausible explanation has been given for the sudden scarcity and disappearance of the Naira from banks which has left millions of DMB customers in distress.
Nigerians have been frustrated since Monday because Banks are unable to dispense cash, including the old and new naira notes, most ATMS are not paying, according to theG&BJournal investigation while the Pos operators have taken advantage of the situation to increase their service charges.
A frustrated pos operator named Chika said she went to the bank to withdraw 50,000 naira and the banks charged her 3,000 naira. When asked why? She simply said, ‘’we are now using money to collect our own money from the bank.’’
Many pos operators has closed down, unable withdraw cash from the banks for their operations while few pos operators who still have cash either old or new naira note charge huge premium for their service.
‘’I had to increase his charges fee because it’s almost impossible to get cash from the bank, and that most pos have closed because of no cash,’’ say a staff of popular PoS operator in Lagos.
Meanwhile, the CBN said it has observed, with grave concern, the activities of persons who sell the newly redesigned banknotes and those who flagrantly abuse the legal tender by hurling wads of Naira notes in the air and stamping on the currency at social functions, suggesting clandestine actors within the banking system working to truncate the circulation of the new notes to customers.
‘’We have equally noticed the queues at Automated Teller Machines (ATMs) across the country and an upward trend in the cases of people stocking and aggregating the newly introduced banknotes they serially obtain from ATMs for reasons best known to them,’’ the CBN said.
‘’Also worrisome are the reported cases of unregistered persons and non-bank officials swapping banknotes for members of the public, purportedly on behalf of the CBN.
The CBN warned that ‘’it is unlawful to sell the Naira, hurl (spray), or stamp on the currency under any circumstance whatsoever.’’
The apex bank drew attention to Section 21(3) of the Central Bank of Nigeria Act 2007 (As amended) which stipulates that “spraying of, dancing or matching on the Naira or any note issued by the Bank during social occasions or otherwise howsoever shall constitute an abuse and defacing of the Naira or such note and shall be punishable under the law by fines or imprisonment or both.” Similarly, Section 21(4) states that “It shall also be an offence punishable under Sub-section (1) of this section for any person to hawk, sell or otherwise trade in the Naira notes, coins or any other note issued by the Bank.”
Accordingly, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) is ‘’collaborating with the Nigeria Police, Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS), the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and the Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit (NFIU) to address the unpatriotic practice.’’
The CBN sternly warned Nigerians, particularly those at social functions such as birthdays, weddings and funerals, to desist from disrespecting the Naira or risk being arrested by law enforcement agencies.
The apex bank reiterated its commitment to Nigerians to ensure the effective distribution of the newly introduced Naira banknotes, and urged patience as it works assiduously to address the challenge of queues at ATMs.
‘’We also admonish members of the public to embrace and adopt other payment channels for their transactions,’’ the CBN said in the official statement signed by Osita Nwanisobi Director, Corporate Communications.
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