The Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, Uyo branch, Akwa Ibom State, dispatched officials on Thursday to monitor commercial banks in the city that have begun loading their Automated Teller Machines, ATM, with the newly redesigned Naira notes.
Sterling Bank, Zenith Bank, First Bank, Union Bank, Globus Bank, UBA, SUNTRUST bank, Keystone Bank, Access Bank, Polaris Bank, Guarantee Trust Bank (GTB), First City Monument Bank (FCMB), and Fidelity Bank were all visited during the spot check exercise by CBN officials along Abak Road.
Newsmen who monitored the exercise observed that Keystone Bank and First Bank on same Abak Road, were not dispensing cash at their ATM points but were paying their, customers from the counter.
Also the banks visited by the CBN team along, Udo Udoma avenue, Uyo, include First Bank, Zenith Bank, Access Bank, Fedelity Bank, GTB bank, UBA bank and Union Bank, while those along Aka Road were Unity Bank, Access Bank, First Bank, Ecobank and Wema bank.
However, most of the banks complied with the directive, apart from few branches of the Zenith Bank and Sterling Bank especially the ones located inside the University of Uyo Teaching Hospital (UUTH) that were still paying customers the old N1000, N500, and N200 notes, both from their counter and ATM points.
Also some banks that have only one ATM point, or none dispensing the redesigned currency, such as Keystone and First Bank, along Abak Road, attributed the challenge to non availability or shortage of the New Naira notes, even as some claimed to have exhausted the ones the CBN supplied to them.
Meanwhile, some Traders at the popular Itam market as well as commercial Drivers at the Itam Motor park, both in Itu local government area of the state urged the CBN management to make the commercial banks stop dispensing the old Naira notes to them.
They spoke same Thursday after the CBN team led by the Deputy Director, Abuja office, Mr Ekanem Akpan and assistant Director, Head Banking, Uyo branch, Mr Isang Agbomi, sensitised them on the Redesigned Naira notes and the need to embrace its new monetary policy.
Majority of them even lamented that they have not seen the three newly redesigned notes before, and thanked the officials for the awareness campaign.
A motorist, who identified himself as Mr Emmanuel Udoh expressed fears that many people many not be able to meet the January 31, 2023 deadline to key into the cashless policy and therefore, called on the CBN to extend the deadline March this year.
At Itam market a trader, Madam Rose Michael who said she is among those yet to see the redesigned currencies appealed :” Please stop the commercial banks and other monetary outlets to stop dispensing the old Notes to customers “