The Association of Mobile Money and Bank Agents has warned that the problem of cash shortages currently facing the country will likely get worse ahead of the yuletide and New Year festivities.
The warning comes amidst efforts by the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, to manage the problem.
The apex bank had issued three statements in the last one month assuring Nigerians that it is on top of the situation. From all indications, it doesn’t seems so considering the harrowing experience many Nigerians are facing in the midst of all of these to satisfy their cash transaction.
Not a few Nigerians insist that the Oluyemi Cardoso-led bank seems to have run out of ideas on how to solve the problem. He needs to do more, according to them, to justify his appointment as Nigeria’s top banker.
On Thursday the Vice President of the association, Obioha Oti called on the CBN to intervene before it is too late.
Oti while speaking on Channel Television Business Morning, disclosed that the problem is gradually getting out of hand, to the extent that his members are now resorting to buying cash from petrol stations and other business outlets in other to meet customers’ demands.
“If the situation is not resolved before next week, there will be a serious crisis,” he said, noting that the current problem is a result of the Supreme Court ruling regarding the expiration of the old N200, N500, and N1,000 notes by the end of the year.
Recall that the CBN said last week that the March 2022 Supreme Court ruling which sought to invalidate the old naira as legal tender, has been vacated.
The assertion was contained in a statement signed by the bank’s Acting Director, Corporate Communications, Sidi Ali.
According to the apex bank, the old and new naira notes are to be used side by side for cash transactions.
The statement said, “Following the order of the Supreme Court on Wednesday, November 29, 2023, granting the prayer of the Minister of Justice and Attorney-General of the Federation to extend the use of old Naira banknotes ad infinitum, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has directed all its branches to continue to issue and accept all denominations of Nigerian banknotes, old and re-designed, to and from deposit money banks (DMBS).
“For the avoidance of doubt, the Supreme Court ordered that the old versions of N200, 500, and N1,000 banknotes shall continue to be legal tender, alongside the re-designed versions.
“Accordingly, in line with Section 20(5) of the CBN Act 2007, all banknotes issued by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), will continue to remain legal tender, indefinitely.
“Members of the public are enjoined to continue to accept all Naira banknotes (old or re-designed) for their day-to-day transactions and handle these banknotes with the utmost care, to safeguard and protect the lifecycle of the banknotes.
“Furthermore, the general public is encouraged to embrace alternative modes of payment, e-channels, in order to reduce pressure on the use of physical cash.”
Despite the assurance by the CBN that it is on top of the situation, cash problems persist across the country with no end in sight to it, according to those monitoring the situation.
The situation has now opened an opportunity for POS operators and other money agents to do brisk business, though, the operators insist that they are not the cause of the problem.
The operators have increased their charges blaming it on the rising cost of operation.
Some POS operators while speaking with the magazine said they no longer get cash from the bank, and that they are going through the same problems other Nigerians are facing.
“We no longer get enough cash from the banks. The commercial banks no longer have enough cash in their ATMs as well. When we go to the counter, they only pay us a meager amount of what we requested,’ an operator in Ikeja told the magazine.
On their part, some spokespersons of commercial banks said on Thursday that they can only make the cash made available to them by the CBN to customers.
“It is not our function to print money. That is the duty of CBN. We only give to customers on demand what we get from CBN. Besides the current cash scarcity is an artificial one. Hopefully it will go away in a matter of days,” a top commercial bank official said.
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