The escalating Naira scarcity in banks has left residents of the Federal Capital Territory grappling with frustration and inconvenience.
Rayve.Ng reports that bank customers and even POS, operators in Abuja have been struggling to withdraw cash from ATMs and were often faced with long queues and limited services at banking halls.
Vanguard correspondent who visited some old and new generation banks in Nyanya, and another new generation bank in Mararaba, observed numerous complaints lodged at these banks by customers over the uneasy situation they find themselves in.
The correspondent noticed that a lot of the bank branches had ATMs that were not dispensing cash, and there were extremely long lines inside the banking halls.
Some of the bank customers who spoke to Vanguard said that they had been forced to make multiple visits to different banks in the hopes of obtaining some much-needed cash.
“I have been to three different banks today and none of them has enough cash to give me. It’s very frustrating. We can’t even access our money when we need it the most,” said Bola Adeyemi, a civil servant residing in Abuja.
Another customer at an old generation bank in Nyanya, Abuja, Eno Effiong, said: “It’s frustrating that we’re living in the capital city and still facing such cash scarcity issues. I came to the bank to withdraw N15,000 but I was told I could only get N10,000. I mean, isn’t Abuja supposed to be one of the most developed and well-equipped cities in Nigeria? It’s high time the government acted upon this and ensured that banks have enough cash to cater to our needs.”
A Nasarawa State Polytechnic student, Apindo Patience, said: “I just don’t understand why they can’t manage the cash flow properly in the banks. It’s not like Abuja is a small town with limited resources. The inconvenience caused by this scarcity is undeniable, especially when we have important bills to pay and can’t access the desired amounts of money from our own accounts.”
An Abuja trader, who identified herself as Genevieve Johnson, said: “The lack of cash in the banks has definitely made life more difficult for us. Even simple tasks like grocery shopping or paying for transportation have become a hassle when you can’t withdraw the required cash. It’s causing unnecessary stress and inconvenience in our daily lives.”
Also, a POS operator, Asmau Usman, said: “Since yesterday, I have been struggling to get money. I have only been able to gather small. Now, we don’t collect N100 for N5000 again, it’s N150. This is because banks are giving little or nothing.”
Another POS operator, Emeka Ugwu, said: “I sent my boy to some money in two different banks since morning and he is not yet back. The last time I called him, he was only able to get N10,000. For now, everything has increased and Nigerians are going through hell. People spend hours waiting in long queues, only to be told that there’s not enough cash available. It’s a pity.”
Except for one bank employee, who casually and anonymously mentioned that the bank cannot provide cash exceeding N20,000, all attempts to obtain comments from other bank officials were unsuccessful as they refused to comment on the matter.
At another old-generation bank located at Mpape in Abuja, customers were restricted to a withdrawal limit of N20,000. These limitations have imposed a substantial strain on Nigerians needing access to cash.