Cash shortage resurfaces in Akwa Ibom ahead of December 31 deadline

A shortage of naira notes is hitting Akwa Ibom State hard, despite the Central Bank of Nigeria’s position that the old notes remain valid after the December 31 deadline.

DAILY POST reported that residents in the state, especially traders and petrol station owners, are still hoarding the new notes.

This stems from concerns that the Supreme Court’s order that old banknotes will become invalid by December 31 will remain in place.

The federal government, through its attorney general, Lateef Fagbemi, had applied to the Supreme Court to set aside the deadline order, citing the current economic instability.

He prayed that the court would allow both the old and new currencies to continue to function as legal tender in the country, adding that any action to the contrary would risk the economic crisis experienced during the former CBN’s cashless policy. He pointed out that it would set the country back. Governor, Godwin Emefiele.

He said: “Abiding by the expiration dates of the old 200, 500 and 1000 Naira notes as ordered by this honorable court will expose the Federal Government to a new national, economic and financial crisis as called for by this honorable court. It’s going to be a push,” he said. This is blocked by the first instance based on the judgment in the above-mentioned case.

“The only way to save the people from both of the above situations is to allow both old and new banknotes to be used as legal tender until the necessary structures are in place and proper consultations are established.”

However, some residents in Akwa Ibom appear to have taken the federal government’s position on the deadline lightly and have already begun a panicked retreat.

Some traders, who had made huge profits by selling cash to point-of-sale (POS) operators during the cashless policy, started hoarding cash.

Most of the commercial banks visited in Uyo metropolis do not disburse cash above N20,000 at their counters due to lack of cash.

A bank customer identified as Koko Akpan went to two banks to withdraw N150,000 and N140,000 respectively for the purchase of groceries but none of the banks agreed to pay such amount. I lamented that.

Akpan said they eventually collected twenty thousand naira (Twenty Thousand Naira) from each bank.

“I don’t withdraw more than 10,000 naira when I go to banks or ATMs, so I don’t know what’s going on.

“But when I went to the bank to withdraw the money my sisters had sent to buy things, I was surprised to find that there was no money in the bank.

“Those girls (cashiers) only paid me N40,000. After I lost N3000 due to the bill, I had to go to the POS to receive the balance,” he told our correspondent told.

A bank official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, lamented the bank’s cash shortage due to a drop in customer deposits.

According to the staff, “We don’t always have a lot of cash because people don’t deposit as much money anymore. However, we are able to pay customers up to 50,000 naira.”

On the issue, a caller on the Comfort FM program in Uyo, Idongesit State, said that the CBN had no ability to make cash available and that some people had hoarded cash, thereby causing incalculable losses to the masses. He regretted the “insensitivity” that had caused such hardship. .

He further said, “My bank cannot pay more than N20,000 over the counter.When I ask them, they say they don’t have the money.What is the CBN governor doing?

“People in the Legislature are aware of this issue. My question is why did they not ask how they would address this issue when vetting the CBN governor?

“How do you pay the woman who sells so many plantains at the market?”

Meanwhile, some POS operators in other local governments in the state say they are unable to withdraw more than N20,000 from their banks, so they are buying cash from traders in Uyo at very low rates to continue their operations. Stated.

An operator who identified himself as Udeme said he has two customers who sell cash at Anyon Market three times a week.

He said, “I’m not raising money from banks, I’m going into the market and raising money. It’s better for me.”

When asked how much he would pay for the cash, he replied: The quantity is not large. I transfer to one of them he N503,000 and sometimes he transfers N504,000 and they give me N500,000 cash.

“That’s better for us because they don’t have to stress or waste time going to the bank to deposit cash.

“At the end of the day, they’ll still put the little ones on top. It’s not just me, many of my colleagues have the same experience.”

When I spoke to one of the traders at Itam market, a popular market in Uyo, he said: “Nigeria looks at me, looks at you, anything goes! Can we be sure that by December they won’t say the old naira is invalid?

“My advice to you is to keep your new notes until then and see what happens.

“When the day’s sales are over, I separate the old and new bills, store the new bills, and give the old bills to the person doing the POS for business purposes. I don’t sell to them, but they sell my “Some of the neighbors here sell things to them, but it’s not like it was before,” he said.

Source: dailypost.ng