Recall that the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has fixed Jan.
31 as the deadline for the use of the old naira notes.
The development has created apprehension among the citizenry
as many worry of what will become of the old note they have if they could not dispose
it off before the deadline seeing as the redesigned note has been hard to come
by.
However, some of the Pos outlets visited in Nyanya, Mararaba
and Karu areas of the territory were either not dispensing the new notes or
charging extra cash for them, the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports
Miss Dera Akoh, an operator in Nyanya was charging N200 for
each N2000 new notes dispensed.
She decried that banks were not also dispensing enough new
naira notes to them.
”For every N2000 you withdraw, the customer will pay me
N200.
”It is very difficult for us to get the new notes even in
banks.
”I went to the bank yesterday and they gave me new notes for
only N5000. It is not our fault,” she said.
Another operator, Mrs Peace Akande, also in Nyanya, said she
charged N150 for every N1500 withdrawn.
She appealed to CBN to institute a monitoring mechanism for
banks to ensure that they were not using the new naira notes for other
businesses to the detriment of the masses.
Mr Isah Abdullahi, a PoS operator at Mararaba, said he did
not have new notes to pay customers.
He appealed to the customers to withdraw only what they
could spend before the deadline for the use of the old naira notes elapsed.
Mr Anthony Ali, a resident of a community in Lugbe area,
said that operators were charging N500 for every N5,000 withdrawn.
”Throughout yesterday in Lugbe, if you want to collect
N5000, the operators will pay you N4500 and collect their N500 charge as
against N100 which they usually charge.
”This is very frustrating. CBN needs to step up their
actions.
”They should make these new naira notes available for people
to use,” he said.
NAN reports that the Automated Teller Machines (ATMs) in
most banks visited along the Central Area, FCT, were not dispensing cash.
Some customers seen at Sterling and First Banks along the
area regretted that the new notes were not in full circulation.
They urged CBN to make the notes available for people to
access and use with ease.
NAN further reports that there have been appeals from
various quotas to the CBN to extend the Jan. 31 deadline for the collection of
the old naira notes