The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has allayed the fear of scarcity of Naira notes in the country, saying it has sufficient stock to guarantee seamless financial transactions for everyone.
The apex bank, in a statement issued by its Director of Corporate Communications, Dr. Isa AbdulMumin, assurred Nigerians that there is no reason for anyone to entertain the fear of scarcity of naira notes in the country because it has enought in its stock.
AbdulMumin who said that the attention of the CBN has been drawn to alleged scarcity of currency notes at Automated Teller Machines (ATM), Points of Sales (POS) and Bureau de Change, in some parts of the country, insisted that CBN’ investigations revealed that it was as a result of huge withdrawals of money from some branches of the apx bank and panic withdrawals at ATMs.
He, however, assured that the CBN has enough stock of all denominations of the nation’s currency in stock for every financial transaction.
“The attention of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has been drawn to reports of alleged scarcity of
cash at banks, automated teller machines (ATMs), Points of Sale and among Bureaux de Change
(BDCs) in some major cities across the country, explained that this could be as a result of hige withdrawals by deposite banks from the branches of the CBN and perhaps because of panic withdrawals from ATMs.
^Our findings reveal that the seeming cash scarcity in some locations is due largely to high volume
withdrawals from the CBN branches by Deposit Money Banks (DMBs) and panic withdrawals by
customers from the ATMs
“While we note the concerns of Nigerians on the availability of cash for financial transactions, we wish to assure the public that there is sufficient stock of currency notes for economic activities in the country. The branches of the CBN across the country are also working to ensure the seamless
circulation of cash in their respective states of operation,” he asserted.
The apex bank therefore advised members of the public to guard against panic withdrawals as there is sufficient stock to facilitate economic activities, just as it pleased with Nigerians to embrace alternative modes of payment, which would reduce pressure on using physical cash.
