Commercial banks in various countries on Monday resumed issuing old N500 and N1000 notes to customers over the counter and through Automated Teller Machines (ATMs).
The move comes against the backdrop of the Supreme Court ruling on the naira redesign policy of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) which forced banks to issue old notes to Nigerians.
On Friday, the Supreme Court ruled that Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) had to extend the use of old paper money until December 31 because of the negative impact of the policy. The seven-member judicial panel, chaired by John Okoro, unanimously ordered the CBN to continue accepting old notes from Nigerians.
The court found that President Muhammadu Buhari’s directive to the CBN on the withdrawal of old notes and the redesign of new banknotes without proper consultation was invalid.
The CBN last December introduced the new N200, N500 and N1,000 notes by withdrawing the old notes from circulation. The policy has led to widespread chaos across the country, sparking protests in various regions as Nigerians face challenges in their efforts to do business and access cash for daily transactions.
Since the Supreme Court decision on Friday, the CBN and the Nigerian government have not reacted to the new development. Several phone calls and text messages sent to the presidential spokesperson, Garba Shehu, and the acting CBN spokesperson, AbdulMunin Isa, went unanswered on Tuesday night.
Amid the uncertainty, banks and business owners continue to worry about the silence of apex banks and the use of old notes as legal tender.
Abuja
On Tuesday, PREMIUM TIMES gathered that some commercial banks in the Nigerian capital, Abuja, refused to pay their customers old notes pending the CBN’s directive on the matter. However, other banks in Lagos and FCT are disbursing old naira to their customers.
A bank official at Union bank who requested anonymity because he was not authorized to speak on the matter told this newspaper that he was just waiting for word from the CBN.
“Since the ruling, the CBN has not given us any money and we have no old notes.
“If they give us the old notes the next time they provide us, then we will automatically release them, but for now, we are not sure of anything,” he said.
On Tuesday, a PREMIUM TIMES reporter discovered that the Guaranty Trust Bank branch in Garki did not give old notes. However, Access Bank and Sterling bank in the Central Region of Abuja are giving out old N500 and N1000 notes to their customers.
One of the tellers at the Access Bank branch said they still have the old notes in the safe and have not been given the new notes.
At the Guaranty Trust Bank (GTB) branch in Wuse market, an official of the bank who declined to speak to this newspaper said “The Supreme Court has given an order for collection but we are yet to get a clear directive from the CBN. .”
Other officials at First Bank branches around Wuse market assured customers to use old naira notes to generate codes for deposits. “We have not started giving old notes to our customers because we don’t have old naira notes and we are waiting for CBN’s directive,” the staff added.
At the Access Bank branch in Wuse, an official said: “If you go into the bank and ask about customer service, they will also tell you that the bank is waiting for the CBN to talk before they start issuing old naira notes.”
He pointed out that some banks have given old notes but they have not been authorized to do the same.
At the Wema bank branch in Wuse market, an official at the bank said that the Supreme Court has ordered the notes to be legal tender “but the CBN has not yet issued an official statement on the matter, so we are patiently waiting for their directive.”
Lugbe
Some banks that visited the Federal Housing Authority (FHA) Lugbe axis in Abuja did not give money on Tuesday.
At Fidelity, frustrated bank customers are seen walking around the bank premises to see what will change.
At the bank counter, an official who refused to write his name because he was not authorized to speak for the bank told reporters that the branch had no cash.
“Currently there is no cash and there is no network. We do not know when we will have cash in this branch. Even if you come tomorrow, I cannot guarantee that we will have money to spend,” an official told PREMIUM TIMES.
Asked if they would start implementing the Supreme Court verdict on the old notes, the bank official said they have not received any notification from the regional office and head office about the court order.
At Polaris bank branch, customers of the bank said that the bank is giving out old N200 notes to customers now, but many customers are unable to process their cash withdrawals because they do not have enough cash.
During a visit to one of the UBA branches in the FHA area in Lugb, customers were seen struggling to enter the banking room to lodge complaints.
**Insert picture of people struggling to get into the banking hall at Lugbe UBA**
In the banking hall, officials are seen attending to customers who come for the electronic transfer process. But when asked whether cash transactions can be processed over the counter, the bank official only said “No cash”.
The situation is similar at Wema bank branch in Sector F axis in Lugbe.
Also read: CPPE hails Supreme Court verdict on old notes
In all the banks we visited, PREMIUM TIMES observed that the ATMs were quiet due to the cash crunch. Customers were seen crowding around the ATM terminals and lamenting the hardships they are facing due to the cash crunch.
(Insert image showing customer stranded in banking hall)
Lagos
On Tuesday, a PREMIUM TIMES reporter who visited the Guaranty Trust Bank Branch on Ijaiye Road, Ogba, Lagos, discovered that the bank was closed to customers from 2:30 p.m.
PREMIUM TIMES learned many customers rejected the old naira notes issued at the counter earlier in the day, when there were no cash machines loaded with money.
The First City Monument Bank branch in the same neighborhood was opened to customers, most of whom were hanging out in the banking hall, waiting to be paid in old notes. The branch’s two automated teller machines (ATMs) stood empty.
Nearby, an Ecobank branch was closed on the day at around 2:44pm A guard on duty said the branch was closed before 2pm, and customers refused to accept old naira bills.
The cash machine is not filled with money during the visit.
Access Bank Branch It was around 3:00 p.m. Old naira notes are available for customer withdrawal inside the banking room.
The Keystone Bank branch and the nearby Stanbic IBTC Bank branch are not open for customers at the same time and there are no working ATMs.
At the First Bank branch, Ogba / Ijaiye Road, Lagos, there is no cash machine that dispenses money. Staff of the bank told PREMIUM TIMES the branch is currently upgrading its system and is not giving out cash to customers.
In Ibadan, the Oyo State capital, residents told PREMIUM TIMES that some commercial banks have started giving old notes to their customers on Monday. “The records are not enough and we have no directive from the CBN yet,” said a new generation bank official who did not want his name in print.
Frustrated Nigerians
On Tuesday, amid shoddy operations by commercial banks, scores of Nigerians queuing for hours to get their hands on old notes bemoaned the ripple effect of the cash crunch on their day-to-day business.
Grace Ominiyi, a cloth seller at Karmu market in Abuja, complained about her condition and how she could not dispose of the old notes she received over the weekend.
“We heard about the court verdict on Friday night TV, so it’s not a problem to receive it from my customers on Saturday and even from church customers on Sunday.
“I came to the market today (Monday) and I saw that no one has collected the old notes, and I cannot go to the bank now,” he said.
Ms Ominiyi is not the only frustrated trader battling with low patronage and adverse effects of the naira note policy.
A PREMIUM TIMES survey on Tuesday revealed that businesses and traders recorded low patronage as Nigerians battled with cash crunch.
Consumers are more cautious about spending due to the limited availability of cash, which has led to a decline in sales for many businesses, especially small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) that rely heavily on consumer spending to survive.
Akpotcha Bernice, a food vendor at the market, told PREMIUM TIMES that sales have been poor.
“I don’t sell like before anymore, even though I set it up and ask customers to transfer to my daughter’s account, some get discouraged when they hear that they have to pay an additional N100 for the cost,” she said.
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