Business

Banks Confirm Receiving More Cash, Load ATMs

Published

3 years ago

March 27, 2023

The Central Bank of Nigeria has released more old notes to Deposit Money Banks as the apex bank steps up efforts to flood the economy with more cash after a prolonged cash crunch that has made life difficult for millions of Nigerians and residents.

The CBN had on Thursday begun the release of billions of naira to DMBs. Bank officials said the CBN again released several billions of naira to lenders on Friday

Reports several branches of banks opened over the weekend and dispensed cash to their customers via Automated Teller Machines and over-the-counter.

Some of the banks had sent out emails to their customers notifying them that they would be open over the weekend for banking operations as ordered by the apex bank.

Visits to banks’ branches in Lagos, Abuja, Ogun and other states revealed that most banks complied with the order of the CBN and attended to customers both in the banking hall and dispensed cash via ATM.

Most of the banks’ branches along the Oshodi-Apapa Expressway and Gbagada area of Lagos opened on Saturday and Sunday and subsequently dispensing cash to their customers.

The Access Bank branch at Sadiku Bus stop along the Oshodi-Apapa Expressway dispensed cash via its ATMS.

The United Bank for Africa branch at Oshodi, close to the expressway dispensed cash both in the banking hall and at its ATMs. Customers were able to get N20,000 over-the-counter.

The Access Bank branch next to it allowed its customers to get N20,000 while holders of other banks’’ ATMs got N5,000 only.

Fidelity Bank branch also at Oshodi expressway paid N20,000 inside the banking hall. Of its three ATMs, only one was dispensing, paying other banks’ customers N5,000 and its customers N20,000.

Meanwhile, it was not observe any of the banks dispensing crispy naira notes and customers didn’t care as long as they got the cash.

A taxi driver, who identified himself as Baba Taju, said the kind of naira notes didn’t matter as long as he got some to spend.

“You think that’s important now? What did we do when we couldn’t get any cash? Please any cash is welcome as long as I can spend it,” he said.

Also, customers in the Federal Capital Territory continued to receive naira notes on Sunday.

Some crowds of customers were seen at banks’ ATM galleries while others tried to perform over-the-counter transactions.

Along the airport road, only Guaranty Trust Bank opened for physical operations, Stanbic IBTC loaded its ATMS with cash while Zenith Bank didn’t open for business.

It was observed that the old N1,000 notes distributed were not crisp ones as officials separated mutilated notes before giving them to customers.

In Ogun State, findings by our correspondent at Zenith Bank, PremiumTrust Bank, GTB, Unity Bank and Access Bank branches in Redemption Camp along the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway indicated that all the ATMs were fully loaded with cash

It was observed that there were no long queues and after the Sunday service, bank customers were allowed to walk in and carry out their normal transactions.

Also, both old and new naira notes were dispensed.

Along the Ojodu-Berger axis of Lagos State, our correspondent visited six banks. The banks were Union Bank Plc, Ecobank, Access Bank, GTB, Zenith Bank, and First Bank. All six banks, apart from Guaranty Trust Bank did not open their banking halls to customers. ATMs were also not loaded.
PUNCH

Related Topics:#Banks #CBN Naira Scarcity

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Business

Naira Appreciates Massively Against US Dollar In The Black Market, Highest In 15 Months

Published

2 days ago

September 25, 2025

Editor

The naira appreciated massively against the United States dollar at the parallel foreign exchange market.

Abubakar Alhasan, a Bureau De Change operator in Wuse Zone, Abuja, told DAILY POST that the Naira strengthened significantly to N1,490 per dollar on Wednesday, up from N1,520 on Tuesday.

“We buy at N1480 and sell at N1490 on Wednesday due to lower FX demand,” Alhasan confirmed to newsmen.

This means that the Naira gained N30 against the dollar on a day-to-day basis.

The last time they were exchanged at this level in the black market was in June 2024.

Meanwhile, at the official market, it dropped marginally by N1.19 to N1,488.56 per dollar on Wednesday, down from N1,487.37, according to data from the Central Bank of Nigeria.

Analysing the trend at both markets, the difference between official and parallel markets has shrunk to 1.44.

Recall that on Tuesday, the Naira appreciated across official and parallel foreign exchange markets upon an interest rate cut by the apex bank by 50 basis points to 27 per cent.

Business

Why We Rejected Govt’s Plan To Sell Assets – PENGASSAN President

Published

2 days ago

September 25, 2025

Editor

The President of the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria, PENGASSAN, Festus Osifo, has revealed the reasons oil unions rejected the government’s plan to sell assets.

Osifo said that the plan will be injurious to the Nigerian economy in the long run.

He made this statement on Wednesday, while responding to questions in an interview on ‘Prime Time’, a programme on Arise Television.

“What informed our position in this is that as PENGASSAN and NUPENG, we represent the workforce of the oil and gas industry in Nigeria.

“So it’s our responsibility first to our members to ensure that their jobs are protected and to ensure that their welfare is enhanced.

“Secondly, our members live in a country called Nigeria. Nigeria must survive and strive before our members will be able to survive.

“So we feel the move to go in this direction will not just affect the plights of our members but is injurious to Nigeria’s economy in the long run.

“The oil unions’ rejection of this plan is to protect Nigeria’s economy and the welfare of its members.

“This decision will certainly boomerang, revenue will plummet, and it will lead to a lot of other issues,” Osifo said.

Business

Okonjo-Iweala Reveals How Nigeria Can Dominate AfCFTA

Published

3 days ago

September 23, 2025

Editor

The Director-General of the World Trade Organisation, WTO, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, says Nigeria has what it takes to lead Africa’s new era of trade if it tackles high logistics costs, develops efficient payment systems, and invests in value addition.

Okonjo-Iweala, who was speaking on the sidelines of the WTO Public Forum in Geneva, Switzerland, said Nigeria and other African economies must speed up the implementation of the African Continental Free Trade Area, AfCFTA, and build stronger infrastructure to unlock billions of dollars in opportunities in manufacturing, services, and digital trade.

“The AfCFTA is a great step, but Africa trades only about 15–20 percent within itself — far below the European Union, EU’s 60 percent. We (Nigeria) need to speed up implementation so Africans trade more with each other.

“Take Lesotho: it exports around $200 million worth of textiles (jeans, etc.) to the U.S. — about 10 percent of its GDP — while Africa imports $7 billion of similar goods. Why not absorb Lesotho’s products within Africa? To unlock intra-African trade, we (Nigeria) need efficient payment systems (Afreximbank and others are working on this), better infrastructure and lower trade costs. It shouldn’t take longer to ship goods from Cape Town to Lagos than from China to Lagos.

“With critical minerals, energy, and new supply chains, plus opportunities in services and digital trade, there’s huge potential — if we invest in connectivity and implementation,” she said.

The former Nigeria’s Minister of Finance also cautioned that negative narratives about global commerce risk overshadowing recent successes achieved through multilateral cooperation.