The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) yesterday directed banks to commence immediate over-the-counter cash payments to their customers.
But it pegged the daily amount at N20,000.
It is to reduce queues at Automated Teller Machines (ATMs) terminals across the country.
Also yesterday, the Federal Government implored Nigerians to see the current scarcity of the naira as a temporary sacrifice for a saner national economy.
Just as the directive and admonition emerged from Abuja, Kaduna State Governor Nasiru El-Rufai, revealed that All Progressives Congress (APC) governors would meet today with President Muhammadu Buhari to discuss the naira redesign policy.
He said the governors would plead for an extension of the deadline for the swap of old notes to new ones beyond February 10.
El-Rufai, who was featured on Arise TV, said the progressives governors would present to the President, information on the hardship being faced by Nigerians in their states as a result of the redesign policy.
Although some banks started complying with the early morning CBN directive yesterday, many in Lagos still boldly told their customers that they had no cash.
At the few that had their ATMs working, scores of customers shoved and pushed themselves as they struggled to be in lines.
On Lagos Island, for instance, a group of persons protested from one bank branch to another.
In spite of the lingering cash scarcity, a bandit kingpin in Kaduna State released a video in which he was seen bragging that he had about N10 million of the new notes at home.
Shortly before the video, the Independent Corrupt Practices and other related Offences Commission (ICPC) announced the arrest of a woman for allegedly colluding with “key elements” in the financial sector to divert and sell the new notes in the black market.
In the latest directive, the CBN urged Nigerians “to embrace and adopt other payment channels for their transactions”.
The apex bank also urged Nigerians in the statement by its Director, Corporate Communications, Osita Nwanisobi, “to exercise patience as the CBN is working assiduously to address the challenge of queues at ATMs”.
Nwanisobi said the bank had noted “ an upward trend in cases of people stocking and aggregating the newly introduced banknotes” as well as “cases of unregistered persons and non-bank officials swapping banknotes for members of the public, purportedly on behalf of the CBN.”
According to him, those who stock and aggregate the new notes for reasons best known to them risked being arrested.
The CBN spokesman also warned Nigerians, “particularly those at social functions such as birthdays, weddings and funerals to desist from disrespecting the Naira or risk being arrested by law enforcement agencies.”.
A part of the statement reads: “In line with this resolve, the Govenor, Mr. Godwin Emefiele, has directed deposit money banks (DMBS) to commence the payment of the redesigned naira notes over the counter, subject to a maximum daily payout limit of N20,000.
“We also admonish members of the public to embrace and adopt other payment channels for their transactions.”
