Cash

Ibadan, Jan. 14, 2024: Some residents of Ibadan have decried the persistent cash scarcity, even asamidst banks and Point of Sales (PoS) operators are trading blames over the situation.

Describing their experiences in Ibadan on Sunday, the residents said not so much had changed from what the situation was the last yuletide.

Some banks in Ibadan still have their limits on the amount of cash customers can withdraw from Automated Teller Machines (ATMs), even long after the festive season.

Describing his experience, an entrepreneur, Mr John Alamu, said things were just a little bit better than they used to be during the Christmas period.

He noted that customers could only withdraw a maximum of N10,000 at some ATM points while many ATMs were empty.

“You will just see that you are moving from one point to another, looking for a working ATM to collect your money.

“The condition is still not pleasant, and this has forced many people to be patronising PoS operators,” Alamu said.

A food vendor, Mrs Taiye Adeolu, said she now kept her cash to herself and was no longer saving in the bank because getting cash to use for business had remained difficult.

“I go to the ATMs to get little amount of money, which is way below what I need to run my business.

“Imagine that you need N100,000 and you’re told you cannot get more than N5,000 or N10,000.

“The banks are just gaining from innocent Nigerians who are labouring tirelessly to feed themselves,” she said.

A businessman, Mr Mayowa Oluyinka, however, said he had devised a means out of the situation by patronising filling stations instead of bothering himself going to ATM points.

Oluyinka said in a generalised term that ATMs were no longer functioning, as those with money in the past no longer served their purposes.

A civil servant, Mr Olawale Alabi, lamented how frustrated he was having to move from one ATM point to another only to discover that he could only withdraw N1,000 from the last machine he got to.

Alabi wondered why Nigerians must be subjected to so much stress from the banks while PoS operators always had cash to trade with.

Speaking on condition of anonymity, two bank officials, however, said the PoS operators should be held responsible for the scarcity.

One of the officials alleged that some of the operators had multiple accounts and ATM cards, thus moving from one point to another to withdraw all the cash meant for everyone.

“It is even better that Nigerians are crying out because the problem does not lie with the banks.

“Banks have to place limits on withdrawals to curb the activities of PoS operators who empty ATMs and also withdraw via the counters,” the official said.

The official said that the practice was for banks with enough cash to circulate to others in the same area, but that the situation had changed.

“The banks distributing the cash to other banks would first protect their own interest and those of their customers and thus release few cash to other banks,” the official said.

The other bank official said cash was in short supply during the festive period because many people were stacking cash at home, leaving the banks with very few currencies to serve others.

“There is a limit to cash supply. Cash must not be in excess and it must not be in short supply. CBN has a ratio of the cash it must keep but what is happening in Nigeria is peculiar.

“When the CBN releases money, lots of people hoard the cash, which is called cash hoarding. While some do so out of fear, others do it political reasons.

“Nigerians have a Korean cash mentality. So you will be surprised that some of them have cash stacked in their houses.

“CBN is saying we have printed our quota, but where is the cash? So, it is not the CBN’s fault and neither is is the banks’ fault too,” the official said.

The official said ATMs were supposed to run 24 hours but PoS operators move from one ATM point to another, withdrawing to the very last naira note.

“So, when you and I come, we don’t see cash,” said the official.

To mitigate the situation, the bank official said that banks had to set limits to what can be withdrawn per day, in cash and from individuals’ accounts.

“By this, your card and account are tied to a limit.

“But what do the PoS operators do? They open multiple accounts and have multiple cards,” said the official.

The official further revealed that traders in markets and PoS operators now have a kind of partnership through which they exchange cash.

“The market woman no longer brings lots of cash to the bank. A PoS operator simply goes to the market every evening to take up all the cash she has.

“Then in the morning, the market woman turns to the PoS operator for cash or sends her customers to use the PoS nearby to get cash for their trading activities.

“This is how cash is not even entering the banking system. That is why we don’t have issues like in 2023 because the market now self-regulates itself,” said the official.

The banker advised Nigerians to do more electronic transfers, use more cards and depend less on cash.

“Even in UK, you don’t go around with £5,000 or even £1,000 cash. But in Nigeria, going home on a weekend, you want to go with N50,000 or N100,000 cash as a backup. What are you afraid of?

“I think the more people embrace the cashless policy, the better we get used to the fact that you can do transfer and it will go. And if have a dispensing error, it will definitely be reversed,” he said.

On excessive bank charges, he said the public had failed to understand the workings behind what he called a structural maintenance charge for banks and a system maintenance charge.

“For you to operate those operational expenses, go into your books. The fact that your account is on goes into your books, while the cost of diesel also goes into your books.

“Customers want to come to the bank and see that everything is working. They want to see smiling bank staffers. Where do we get the money from?” the bank official queried.

Also, the National Secretary, Association of PoS Users in Nigeria (APOSUN), Mr Isah Zakari, said there were lots of factors causing cash shortage.

While heaping the blames on commercial banks, he, however, absolved PoS operators.

Zakari said in December 2023, the banks reduced the amount of cash withdrawals for their agents.

“The truth is, many PoS outlets are owned by bankers and what they do is to remove the money that is supposed to circulate within the banks for customers to cash, turning it to their PoS outlets.

“This is with the thinking that the country will stop the use of the old naira notes.

“As an individual, let me not speak as a PoS operator, If I need N50,000, I have to go to the ATM to withdraw and when I go to the bank, I also have the right to withdraw. It is my right because I paid the money there.

“So now, the PoS operator wants to use money in the bank, but he does not get it. At ATM points, limits on withdrawals have been placed; he cannot get more than N10,000 or N20,000.

“Our members have been complaining, especially in Zamfara and Kano, saying the only amount of money they can withdraw is N10,000,” he said.

Zakari noted that their investigation revealed that bankers normally sell money to PoS operators, adding that the entire thing could be tied to the neck of dubious bank managers.

According to him, in addition to the naira shortage in Nigeria, Niger Republic is short of their currencies, thereby using naira as their alternative currency.

“This may go on until when the country (Niger) fully secure its autonomy from France,” he said.

Ibadan, Dec. 23, 2023: Some residents of Ibadan, on Friday, decried the hardship they have been facing over cash shortage, saying it may mar their Christmas celebrations.

The residents in Ibadan, lamented the difficult they had been facing in accessing their money in the banks.

An entrepreneur, Mr Niyi Olawuyi, said that the experience had been harrowing, as some banks could not give more than N10,000 to each customer, while give as low as N5,000.

Olawuyi noted that many people, who were forced to do money transfer for business transactions and trading owing to lack of cash, were also being confronted with network problem.

Another entrepreneur, Mr Wale Adio, said that his bank only gives N5,000 to customers, adding that anybody who wanted to get more would have to go to POS operators.

“Many people who are into business and need to pay their workers are struggling to get funds for their daily operations,” Adio said.

Also, an employer with a private organisation, Mr Sola Famakinwa, described cash shortage, particularly at this festive period, as unfortunate and unpalatable.

“You have to waste your time on the queue to get your money. Some banks have even reduced their daily cash limit from N20,000 to N5,000. This will, no doubt, affect Christmas preparations by so many people.

“The transfer is not helping because of the usual network problem. People are suffering because they cannot access even the little money they have in the bank,” he said.

A civil servant, Mrs Aina Ojo, however, said she could not relate with the cash shortage crisis as she had nothing to queue in the bank to get.

“I’m just expecting the payment of the arrears of the N35,000 wage award promised by the Federal Government to enjoy this festive period. That’s all,” Ojo said.

Abuja, Dec.  20, 2023: The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) has urged the Federal Government to address the issue of cash crunch in the country to prevent hardships on its citizens.

Mr Joe Ajaero, NLC President said this on Tuesday in a statement titled “Cash Crunch: An incitement of Nigerians”.

Ajaero said the Congress was deeply concerned about the recent cash crunch that had gripped the Nigerian economy, particularly as the nation approaches the festive season.

According to him, this economic challenge has far-reaching implications for the citizens of our great nation.

“There is need for urgent steps to be taken to address this issue to prevent further hardships for the already suffering Nigerian populace,”he said.

He however alleged that the last cash crunch earlier in the year was orchestrated by the ill-conceived and ill-implemented currency redesign policy of the immediate past.

He added that, the sorrow that botched exercise foisted on us is not what Nigerians wish to witness again in one year.

“Nigerians are spending more time in the banks trying to source for cash not for monies that are not in their accounts but for their own money.

“This is undermining confidence of the public in the banks and may discourage the citizenry from participating actively in Banking.

“It is shameful that Nigerians would have to spend a lot of money to gain access to their hard-earned income.

“We are creating another avenue for economic rentiers such as the POS operators and their collaborators in the Banks to fleece Nigerians,” he said.

The NLC president added that. this subjecting us again to spend our meagre salaries buying our money automatically devalues our income.

He therefore said the NLC recognised the importance of a vibrant economy, and believed that it was in the interest of the nation to ensure that thr citizens would enjoy the festive season without undue financial strain.

“We call on the government to take immediate and decisive action to alleviate the cash crunch and mitigate its impact on the people.

“Government should therefore explore measures to inject liquidity into the economy, ensuring that there is sufficient cash flow to meet the demands of businesses and individuals.

“It is fairly tale to continue brandishing cash hoarding as an excuse. Nigerians want their money and it should be made available to them.

“Excuses are not what Nigerians want to hear but access to their money,”he said.

Ajaero urged government to collaborate with other financial institutions to improve banking services,.

He said they should also ensure the availability of cash at ATMs and bank branches to facilitate easy access for the public.

Abuja, Oct. 18, 2023: Minister of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviation, Betta Edu, has described the Conditional Cash Transfer (CCT) as one of the key instruments of fighting poverty globally.

She stated this at the launch of the Renewed Hope Conditional Cash transfer (CCT) on Tuesday in Abuja.

Edu said that the CCT was part of efforts by the Tinubu-led administration to alleviate the immediate effect of the removal of subsidy on Premium Motor Spirit (PMS), known as petrol.

She said that the new initiative would empower the poor and most vulnerable members of the society, adding that the sum was a source of uplifting majority of beneficiaries.

The CCT launch was heralded by the symbolic handing over of cheques to a number of households at the venue of the event.

The CCT programme was announced by Tinubu during the Independence Day speech, where he said that 15 million households would each be given N25,000 for three consecutive months to alleviate the poverty level.

NAN reports that CCT entails transfers given to beneficiaries based on specific actions such as sending children to school or making regular health visits.

The minister said that N25,000 would be given to each of the beneficiaries  to improve their spending power and economic fortunes in the society.

She also said that the N30,000 Iyaloja loan scheme would soon be started for small-scale traders in the country as part of economic revitalisation and empowerment.

NAN also reports that five beneficiaries; Larai Suleiman, Shuaiabu Hassana, Sariki Gamu, Okor Jonah and Hameed Isiaka, were each given their first monthly instalment payment.

Mr Wale Edun, Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, vowed that the CCT programme would be transparent in accordance with extant global practices.

He said that the programme had an in-built mechanism to reveal all the beneficiaries upon an enquiry.

Edun said that programme was one of the various measures taken by President Bola Tinubu to alleviate the suffering of Nigerians occasioned by the fuel subsidy removal.

The World Bank Country Representative, Mr Shubham Chaudhuri, said that the institution was ready to support Nigeria for taking the bold economic measure for diverting funds from the shackles of fuel subsidy.

He said that the bank was interested in helping its 189 member states to eliminate poverty among their different peoples.

Chaudhuri said that the CCT programme was part of the palliatives pledged by the president that would further assuage the immediate effects of the subsidy removal.

He urged the relevant authorities to ensure that the fund reached the most vulnerable members of the society in order to achieve its objectives.

The Federal Government, through its Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development, says it has agreed with the World Bank to extend the Conditional Cash Transfer Programme (CCT) by another two years.

Mr Apera Iorwa, the National Coordinator, National Social Safety-Nets Coordinating Office (NASSCO), Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development, made this known on Thursday in Lagos.

This was during the World Bank Support Mission on Implementation of National Social Safety Nets Project (NASSP) and Engagement with Stakeholders in Lagos State.

Iorwa said that the CCT programme was designed to benefit poor and vulnerable households with a monthly stipend of N5,000.

He said that the programme was supposed to end on June 30, but had to be extended to accommodate more indigent households.

”Largely, it is first attributed to the success of the programme. We had a target of identifying four million households, today we have identified 11 million households, made up of about 46 million individuals, which is by far the most comprehensive database of individuals in our country.

”Secondly, the programme has been embraced by state governments, especially Lagos State, which has not only embraced the programme, but has established it as a department.

”Now, this has created some level of confidence and belief in the capacity of the programme. The federal government approached the World Bank because of the economic shocks occasioned by the rising cost of living, high rates of inflation to expand this cash transfer.

”It was expanded from two million to 10.2 million, that’s additional 8.2 million in families, for Lagos state, we are expanding it from only 10,000 to 295,000 poor and vulnerable households,” the national coordinator said.

The Lagos State Commissioner for Wealth Creation and Employment, Mrs Yetunde Arobieke, said that though the cash transfer programme had been on since, it was only during the Gov. Babajide Sanwo-Olu’s administration, that the state was able to key into it.

Arobieke said that it would therefore be unfair if all the local governments are not covered, hence, the need to continue with the programme.

”I am elated to disclose that this bi-monthly stipends for 10,985 Lagos State beneficiaries have impacted greatly on them.

”It has smoothened the household consumption, improved school enrolment and attendance, encouraged financial and asset acquisition, as well as group formation and savings,” she said.

The Commissioner urged beneficiaries not to use the stipends for frivolous things, but to used it to better the lot of their families.

Mr Olujumi Ige, the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Wealth Creation and Employment, said that the beneficiaries were being sensitised on ways to use the money and some of them had even created savings account among themselves.

”I am sure by now, they have about N5 million in savings, that they can fall back to take, just like forming cooperatives for themselves.

”The economic benefit to the state is enormous as well, because we find that there will be a multiplier effect of this money in the economy of the Lagos State.”

One of the beneficiaries, Mr Oladipupo Kayode, from Epe, said that the programme had been very helpful, as it had helped to restore hope for the indigents.

”So far, it is a good programme, because many have already lost hope, especially during the lockdown, but along the line the programme came up.”