Uduegbunam ChukwujamaBankers in Delta State took turns to scale the bank fence to flee attacks after customers showed readiness to violently protest naira scarcity and failure to facilitate over-the-counter and electronic cash withdrawals.
A viral video believed to have been taken in Delta State, South South Nigeria, shows many bank staff trying to scale the back fence as angry customers stormed the bank to protest non-availability of new and old naira notes in banking hall and in Automated Teller Machines (ATMs).
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The bankers, who were making frantic efforts to flee with their belongings, are seen collaborating as they took turns to use a ladder to climb up the fence and descend into a nearby bush.
Some of them were heard expressing fears that they might be caught up, as women among them were assisted to escape first. A male voice was heard assuring the worried others that the ‘Delta Patrol Team is on their way” and that the mob would not be able to enter the bank before the team would arrive.
Some knocking sounds, ostensibly from the angry customers trying to break in, could also be heard from the background as the bank staff continued with their desperate escape.
Tension has been building up across the country as banks grapple with challenges linked to Naira scarcity, even as the CBN February 10 revised deadline for old notes draws closer.
READ ALSO: Court Orders CBN Not To Extend Deadline For Old Naira Use Beyond 10 February Date
Volatility among students
In deed, Prime Business Africa had reported agitation among students of the University of Nigeria Nsukka (UNN) who complained they are being given the short end of the stick as banks failed to provide over-the-counter cash and could not load their ATMs with money.
Restaurants and other retail outlets in Nsukka were also accused of rejecting electronic transfers, just as agents on Point of Sale (PoS) devices decree arbitrary charges, ranging from 20 to 30 percent, on amounts withdrawn.
Specifically, students and other residents in the Nigeria’s old university town, are being made to pay as much as ₦350 for every ₦1000 withdrawn through PoS vendors – about 36 percent charge.
The students have called of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and the Department of State Services (DSS) to pay particular attention to the university town and stop the economic sabotage.
READ ALSO: Naira Scarcity: Banks, POS Operators, Restaurants, UNN Students On Collision Course
As reported by PBA in Edo State, Governor Godwin Obaseki is planning a security structure that will checkmate PoS operators who have been ripping off residents with arbitrary charges for withdrawals.
READ ALSO: Naira Scarcity In Edo: Special Task Force For Shylock POS Agents
Since the beginning of the CBN’s naira reissue policy in November 2022, the apex bank, the Deposit money banks (DMBs) and politicians have been trading blames. While the CBN accuses banks of sabotaging its naira redesign efforts, the DMBs insist they do not have enough supply to cater to customer demands. Politicians on the other hand allege that the policy which tends to squeeze cash and curb inflationary trends, would not augur well for their campaigns as the banking regulator insist the policy would tackle vote buying in the 2023 general elections.
At the second “Naira Debacle'” Twitter Space series hosted by Prime Business Africa (PB_Africa), tagged: “The Naira Blame Game: Banks, CBN and Politicians” on Monday 6th January 2023, Business Editors from Nigeria’s major print media – including The Nigerian Tribune, The Guardian, New Telegraph, The Sun, Daily Trust and Thisday – extensively discussed the Nigeria’s currency management challenge and blamed banks and the CBN for not collaborating enough in dishing out the policy.
Former Director General of NIMASA, Dakuku Peterside, insisted that politicians represent an insignificant part of Nigeria’s over 200 million population and could not have had the capacity to unsettle a well-articulated policy.
Dr Muda Yusuf, the CEO of the Centre for the Promotion of Private Enterprise (CPPE) agreed with Peterside and insisted that more time should be given for old and new naira notes to exchange.
However, the Business Editors who participated in the PB_Africa Twitter Space on ‘Naira Debacle’ agreed the policy, though good for the economy, is not being implemented effectively.
Set on its belief that banks are sabotaging the policy, CBN officials have been storming banks and their branches nationwide to find cache of new notes not dispensed in ATMs or given to customers over the counter.
READ: Sterling Bank Accused Of Hoarding New Naira Notes, Faces CBN Penalty
Accused of hoarding N6 million of N200 new notes, Sterling bank said it’s ATM were not configured to take the new notes as of the time the CBN officials visited its Ado-Ekiti branch.
READ ALSO: Sterling Bank Denies ‘Hoarding’ Millions Of N200 Notes In Ado-Ekiti Vault
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