Naira Scarcity: Residents Groan as Abuja ATMs Fail to Dispense Cash
As Nigerians approach the Yuletide period, some residents in the Federal Capital Territory, FCT, are beginning to experience hardship in withdrawing cash via the Automated Teller Machine.
The Pendulum Media gathered that some commercial banks in Abuja are failing to dispense cash.
Some residents who spoke to our correspondent said a lot of people had queued after the bank officer situated at the ATM unit in the AYA community told them to exercise patience and that the ATMs had probably been loaded at the time.
One of the ATM users, Mr. Tiamiyu, said, that after a long wait, he had to visit a Point of Sales, POS operator to withdraw and of course, paid a double charge.
Mr. Tiamiyu said when he inquired about the need for the double charge, the operator explained that it’s been difficult to get money from the bank as many of the ATMs are not dispensing as expected.
Our correspondent, however, observed that the Point of Sales, POS, operators lined up in their numbers in front of those banks to make brisk business.
One of the POS operators, who identified himself as Samuel, lamented that the ATMs have not been dispensing cash as expected, noting that the cash was only available for withdrawal at a particular time of the day.
Another bank user, Mr. Enahoro also said, “I just walk into the banking hall to withdraw cash
ATM withdrawals are not guaranteed. You can be lucky to get ATMs that are dispensing.”
The cash crunch is coming amid the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, directive that both the old and the redesigned Naira notes remain legal tender in Nigeria.
The Supreme Court also in its judgement granted the prayers of the federal government to lift the December 31 extension deadline for the usage of N200, N500, and N1,000 notes.
Responding to the judgement, the apex bank said, “To avoid doubt, the Supreme Court ordered that the old versions of N200, N500, and N1000 banknotes, alongside the redesigned versions, shall continue to be legal tender.
“Accordingly, in line with Section 20(5) of the CBN Act 2007, all banknotes issued by the Central Bank of Nigeria will remain legal tender indefinitely.”
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