As the festive season approaches, many bank customers in the South-West are facing difficulties in accessing cash for their daily needs, as banks continue to ration cash over-the-counter and at Automated Teller Machines.
According to reports, some banks in Lagos and other states in the region have yet to receive cash from the Central Bank of Nigeria, despite the apex bank’s guarantee that it has enough cash to meet Nigerians’ demand.
On the condition of anonymity, some bank officials informed Punch Newspapers that they had to source cash from their branches in Abuja and Kano to serve their customers in the southwest because the situation had worsened.
“The situation is terrible. Many banks in the South-West are being forced to do this. We are not getting cash disbursement from the CBN.”
Multiple banks have again reverted to restricting customers’ cash withdrawal limits at ATMs and over the counter, a condition prevalent earlier this year during the Buhari administration’s cash swap policy.
The Nigeria Labour Congress has threatened to mobilise Nigerians for a mass protest if the Federal Government and the Central Bank of Nigeria fail to address the persistent cash scarcity in the country.
The NLC, in a statement issued by National President Joe Ajaero on Tuesday, accused the CBN of having no discernible reason for the cash crunch, which it said was reminiscent of the previous administration’s botched currency redesign policy, which caused untold hardship for Nigerians earlier this year.
The statement said the CBN’s reasons for fake notes circulation and naira hoarding were unacceptable. “These reasons are clearly unacceptable as we cannot see anything that will make any Nigerian hoard the naira. In any case, it is not the ordinary Nigerian that hoards money in their houses.”
The NLC said the current cash shortage indicates that the government’s anti-corruption campaign has been ineffective and that the amount of graft has worsened since the current administration took office.
According to the NLC, cash scarcity is weakening public trust in the financial system and discouraging participation in banking.
“It is shameful that Nigerians would have to spend a lot of money to gain access to their hard-earned income,” the statement read in part.
“We are creating another revenue for economic rentiers such as PoS operators and their collaborators in the banks to fleece Nigerians. Subjecting us again to spend our meagre salaries buying our money automatically devalues our income.”
The NLC urged the government to collaborate with other financial institutions to improve banking services, such as ensuring the availability of cash at ATMs and bank branches to facilitate easy access for the public. “We believe that the elastic limit of the patience of Nigerians is being breached,” the statement read.
