Serious economic crises appear to be hatching in Enugu State following lack of resolve of the Central bank of Nigeria to monitor distribution and disbursement of the new currency notes introduced by the regulatory body.
Checks as at Tuesday evening revealed that most ATMs stationed in the premises of several conmercial banks could no longer dispense cash.
As at two o’clock in the afternoon, one of the key commercial banks (name with held) could not dispense any note whether new or old currency from any of it’s ATM.
Customers who trooped to perform cash transactions felt disappointed and left with anger even as many still came in to see for themselves.
The scarcity gradually spread to the roadside POS dealers who initially exchanged the new currency charging a fee of N1,000 per N10,000, withdrawn by the customer, whereas they take the sum of N400 as service chaqge per N10,000 of the old naira notes.
At the popular Abakpa market, it was a bitter experience for buyers who wanted to withdraw cash from the several POS operators within the vicinity as most of them complained they have ran out of cash, both the old and new currency.
One of the traders bitterly complained that they made huge deposits of the old currency in their possession into commercials based on the initial CBN date of January 31st just like maoy others,stating that indirectly has affected rate of liquidity(cash flow).
A POS nperator said he was not able to exceed the limit of twenty thousand naira of the new currency as he withdram from a commercial bank. He lamented it only lasted for a few hours .
Further checks revealed that amidst the scarcity of the new nara notes, man petrol filling stations are rejecting the old naira notes from commutters whn cued up to buy fuel(PMS) even at the escalating cost of three hundred and fifty naira per litre and above.
Many residents have raised fears that if the scarcity of both the old and new notes continues. it will amount to a serious economic crises in the next few days.
