The acute scarcity of cash worsened on Friday, leaving many shoppers and travellers stranded and at the mercy of Points of Sales operators, who offered the small amounts of money available to them to desperate citizens for exorbitant fees.
Also on Friday, hundreds of intending passengers, who wanted to travel to different parts of the country for the Christmas and New Year festivities, were left stranded at train stations as the online ticketing portal of the Nigerian Railway Corporation suffered glitches due to an unprecedented rush.
The rush followed the announcement of free train rides for Nigerians travelling for the Yuletide by the Federal Government. Saturday PUNCH gathered that to qualify for the free rides, intending travellers had to book on the portal and the unprecedented number of people trying to book the rides made the portal suffer glitches.
At Automated Teller Machine galleries and banking halls in different parts of the country, desperate customers had difficulties getting cash, with bank workers having difficulty calming frayed nerves.
In Lagos, our correspondents report that customers besieged the few ATM galleries dispensing cash but the amount that could be withdrawn was restricted, while the same situation persisted in banking halls where cashiers limited the amount that each customer could withdraw over the counter to between N5,000 and N10,000.
At major motor parks, interstate travellers had a hectic time paying the fares as transport operators insisted on cash payment and desperate passengers resorted to patronising POS operators, who hiked their charges by over 100 per cent.
However, passengers, who took advantage of the Federal Government’s 50 per cent reduction of fares on select routes by qualified operators of luxury buses, commended the initiative and flooded many of the bus terminals.
Shoppers in various markets also battled high prices of foodstuffs and essential goods as well as cash scarcity, with many traders insisting on cash instead of electronic transfers for items purchased.
When PUNCH NEWSPAPER visited the ATM gallery of Guaranty Trust Bank on Ogunnusi Road in Ojodu-Berger, Lagos, it was observed that only one of the six ATMs dispensed cash at a maximum of N10,000 per customer with other banks’ debit cards, and a maximum of N20,000 for holders of GTB debit cards. Going into the banking hall of the same bank, our correspondent was greeted with the sight of a long, curvy queue for customers, who wanted to make withdrawals and other transactions.
A customer, who gave his name only as Uche, told Saturday PUNCH that some customers had been frustrated, having to wait for so long, only to be told that N10,000 was the maximum amount they could withdraw.
“I have been to the bank three times today (Friday) and have not been able to execute my transactions. This third time, I have been in the queue for about 45 minutes now and I still have several people in front of me,” he stated.
A teller, who attended to customers over the counter, said, “The maximum amount that can be withdrawn by each customer over the counter is N10,000.”
At Zenith Bank in Ojodu-Berger, the ATM gallery was empty, as there was no cash in any of the eight ATMs in the gallery.
Inside the banking hall, it was observed that more people clustered around the counter for bank transfers and cash withdrawals over the counter.
A teller said, “There is a limit to cash withdrawal for all customers and the maximum withdrawal is N5,000 per customer. This is to help make the limited cash available to go round.
“I can’t say why there is cash scarcity, but all I can say now is that there is limited cash at hand now and customers are advised to make use of the electronic channels to pay bills and meet up with other needs this season.”
A similar situation was observed at First Bank and UBA branches in the Alausa area as the ATM channels were not dispensing cash, while customers were limited to N5,000 over the counter.
At the UBA, Access Bank and First Bank branches in Ibafo, Ogun State, desperate customers struggled to withdraw N10,000 from the ATM galleries, while those who were allowed inside the banking halls by security guards could not withdraw more than N10,000.
The ATMs at the Zenith Bank inside the Redemption City were not functioning as a security guard said the machines were out of cash but withdrawals can be carried out over the counter. It was however discovered that the maximum amount customers could withdraw was N20,000.
However, at the UBA branch inside the city, there was a long queue at the ATM gallery, while many customers sat under a canopy waiting to go inside the banking hall, where N10,000 was the maximum amount that could be withdrawn, with a cashier telling one of our correspondents that only lower denominations of N50, N100, and N200 were available.
A PoS operator at the FCT administrative office in Area 11, Abuja, stated that although she was oblivious of whatever was responsible for the shortage of cash, she decided to continue to collect regular charges even though she “buys” the money.
“I bought N100,000 for N2,000. Some people charge as much as N150 and N200 to collect amounts like N3,000. Some even charge up to N400 for N6,000. I still charge N100,” she said.
Another PoS operator, Mrs Helen, said she had no choice but to increase the charges because of the increasing difficulty with getting cash.
“My brother, ATMs won’t dispense more than N20,000. Banks won’t give you more than N10,000 over the counter. Let’s say you now find money changers to give you cash, they charge you exorbitantly too. So what do you do?” she said.
In Lagos and Ogun states, the few POS operators who had naira notes to give to customers were charging between N400 and N600 for every N10,000, while most of them limited withdrawals to N5,000.
Meanwhile, the Central Bank of Nigeria has said the ongoing cash scarcity is due to collusion between PoS operators and Deposit Money Banks.
The reaction was contained in a statement signed by the acting Director of Communication and Public Relations, Sidi Ali on Thursday.
While warning the culprits to desist from such acts as it puts the nation in a bad light and harsh economic situation, it encouraged Nigerians to use alternative payment methods such as electronic transfers.
Ali also encouraged Nigerians to channel their complaints via a digital form on the CBN website.