Breaking News: Christmas Shoppers Express Disapproval Over Naira Scarcity As ATMs Run Dry
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Breaking News: Christmas Shoppers Express Disapproval Over Naira Scarcity As ATMs Run Dry
As Christmas Day approaches, shoppers are expressing dissatisfaction with the worsening scarcity of the naira, venting frustration at their inability to make crucial purchases for the upcoming Yuletide celebration.
According to investigations conducted by The Bushradiogist on Sunday, banks continue to ration cash over-the-counter, and numerous Automated Teller Machines (ATMs) visited across cities like Lagos, Abuja, Osogbo, Makurdi, Sokoto, Edo, and Gusau were observed to be out of cash.
Despite assurances from the Central Bank of Nigeria, the country’s banking regulator, that more cash had been injected into the system for economic activities, on Friday, many bank customers faced difficulties accessing cash over-the-counter in various banking halls nationwide.
Over the weekend, The Bushradiogist found that many poultry sellers and local stores were insisting on cash payments for their goods. A roadside trader in Abule Egba, Lagos, known as Mama Sule, lamented, “Many customers who want to buy onions are saying they don’t have cash. I don’t have a bank account, so I can’t accept transfers; sadly, it is affecting my business.”
Similarly, another trader in Olowoira, Lagos, emphasized, “I am still insisting on cash for payment because I have experienced failed transactions before. If you have cash, I will sell to you.”
Christmas shopper Remi Arowolo shared an experience, saying, “I was traveling from Abeokuta to Lagos; I saw cheap tomatoes on the road, and when I stopped to buy, they said they could not accept transfer from me; they insisted on cash. I wanted to buy them in large quantities ahead of Christmas, but I could not buy them.”
Meanwhile, a Point of Sale operator in the Mokola area of Ibadan, Oyo State, identified as James, expressed concern: “I cannot get enough cash for my business; my business is suffering. I am not making a profit, and Christmas is near, no money to spend this Christmas. It is sad.”
Sources within the banks, speaking on condition of anonymity, explained that banks could only provide cash if they had it available. A senior official from one of the commercial banks acknowledged, “We are still rationing cash to customers, but if the cash supply increases, we will give out. We don’t have enough even for our ATMs. Maybe if the CBN released more cash, we should have more.”
When The Bushradiogist correspondent visited some ATMs in Abuja on Sunday, none of them was dispensing cash to customers. The ATM galleries belonging to GTBank, Zenith Bank, Stanbic IBTC, and UBA along Airport Road did not dispense over the weekend, though security officers at the facilities mentioned that some customers had withdrawn cash.
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Source; Bushradiogist
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