Cash scarcity to end in Ogun by Tuesday as Abiodun engages CBN, Bankers’ Committee 

By Kolawole Olayinka, Abeokuta

Ogun State Governor, Dapo Abiodun, on Monday, paid an unscheduled visit to the Abeokuta branch of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to seek relief on the amounts that citizens can withdraw in exchange for deposits made in commercial banks.

The governor also offered to lend members of his cabinet to monitor cash distribution to banks to ensure that no commercial bank or their agents hoard the new naira notes in the state.

The governor stated these when he visited the management of the apex bank led by the Branch Controller, Wahab Oseni, in Abeokuta. 

Abiodun who later met with Bankers Forum, made up of managers of commercial banks in the state, also extracted a commitment from both the CBN and commercial banks to make cash available to bank customers from Tuesday.

According to the governor, it is disappointing to see long queues of residents at Automated Teller Machines (ATMs), waiting to cash money from the system with so much stress and some not getting enough to meet their immediate needs.

He added that it is humiliating that those who were attended to were paid not more than N2,000 per transaction. 

Abiodun, however, urged the CBN to ensure the availability of new notes at commercial banks for people to withdraw their money.

The governor explained that he was compelled to visit the state branch of the CBN as the “landlord to find out how we can collaborate to ensure the success of the CBN policy on the new notes and currency swap.”

The governor who appealed to the youths in the state not to embark on any civil unrest, noted that such actions would only shut down the economy of the state and make things much more difficult.

“I want to use this medium to talk to our youths that when there is a problem, the solution is not to hit the streets and to start protest marches; we cannot solve a problem with another problem.

“I want to plead with our youths that rather than sending social media announcements of impending disobedience around town, they should embrace peace. We are a very peaceful state; we are very orderly and we have spent a lot of time and energy to invest in that peace and security.

“You cannot because of this problem now want to begin to hit the street to shut down the system and commercial activities,” he said.

Earlier in his remarks, Mr. Oseni pleaded with the people to exercise patience. 

He assured that people will start having access to more cash as from Tuesday (today).

Oseni while noting that the Ogun State branch of the bank has enough cash to distribute among commercial banks in the state, disclosed that the bank has come up with a plan that would see 40% cash disbursed to money agents, 30% paid across the counter and 30% paid through the ATM.

He also added that Microfinance banks in the state have also been added to the plan of cash disbursement across the country.

At the meeting were representatives of the Central Bank of Nigeria from Lagos and Abuja, Mr Adefuye Adeyemi and Mr Kayode Makinde while assuring the good people of the state that the situation will improve Tuesday noted that the bank would ensure full compliance by commercial banks on the disbursement of cash.

Both the controller and the state government team led by Governor Abiodun later had a session with commercial bank executives in his office to on modalities agreed with the apex bank to ease the naira scarcity facing the people.

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