any Nigerians heaved a sigh of relief yesterday as banks started paying the old N200, N500 and N1,000 notes to customers.
It followed Monday’s directive by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to banks to comply with the March 3 judgment of the Supreme Court.
The court held that the old N200, N500 and N1,000 banknotes would remain legal tender until December 31 and co-exist with the new notes.
Many of the banks limited payments over-the-counter to N20,000 because they had limited cash allocations from the CBN.
There were long queues at different branches.
Many Automated Teller Machines (ATMs), which were abandoned for weeks due to cash scarcity, suddenly became a beehive of activities as customers made cash withdrawals to meet their financial needs.
But some ATMs were also empty.
Many banks in Federal Capital Territory (FCT) had no cash.
They said the CBN had not released money to meet demands, but hoped the situation will change in the coming days.
Skye Bank at Wuse Zone 7 paid their customers in old notes over the counter, but only a fraction of what the customers asked for.
At United Bank for Africa (UBA), Area 3, customers were paid N10,000 each over the counter.
At Polaris Bank, a teller said: “We started paying N5,000 each to our customers in the morning, but the money we had in the vault was exhausted at about noon. There will be more money as from Friday”.
Traders and cab drivers in Abuja were reluctant to accept the old notes.
Mixed tales in Lagos
At the GTBank, Ilupeju branch in Lagos, the ATMs dispensed N5,000 to customers and paid N10,000 across the counter.
Huge stacks of old naira notes were seen at the back of the counter, from where the bank tellers paid customers.
Many of the bank customers said it was better to have the old notes than to be without cash.
Michael Oseni, a Lagos-based entrepreneur, said the resumption of payment by the banks will help people to meet their financial obligations to their families and business associates.
The Wema Bank branch at Town Planning Way, Lagos, was paying customers N4,000 through the ATMs for accounts not domiciled at the bank.
The bank’s customers got N20,000 from the ATMs in two withdrawals of N10,000 each.
At the Marina axis of Lagos, many customers trooped to First Bank headquarters to make cash withdrawals across the counter and ATMs.
Many of them were called into the branch in batches to carry out their transactions.
Some banks’ branches said they were yet to get cash supplies from their headquarters.
“We will start payment once we get access to cash. For now, we are only carrying out e-payment transactions,” a teller in one of the banks said.
A bank customer, Mrs Gift Amomo, said the cash crunch persisted despite the CBN directive
Amono said: “I was told there was no cash. Both the old and new Naira notes were not available.”
A PoS operator at Isolo, Mrs Funmi Gbadamosi, said she was unable to collect cash from banks.
“There are still queues at the banks and many of them were not paying yet, but we have started collecting the old Naira notes,” she said.
Taiye Aibor, a trader at Ipaja Market, said businesses had started collecting the old notes after the CBN’s directive.
Many residents of Lagos, especially traders, freely accepted the old notes.
People massed at the entrances of some of the banks in Iyana-Ipaja, Ikotun, Ikeja, Sango-Ota, Oshodi and other areas of the state with the hope to get cash.
However, a bank official, who asked not to be named, claimed that they had yet to receive both the old and new notes.
The official said: “We do not have money to give our customers. That is why we are not paying cash.
“We are hopeful that we will get money from the CBN, following the directive.”
Bayelsa residents accept old notes
Many residents of Yenagoa, Bayelsa State capital, accepted the old naira notes.
A restaurateur, who gave her name only as Ebilade, said her business had almost crumbled.
She said: “The new currency scarcity coupled with the rejection of old naira notes has dealt a big blow to my restaurant business.”
A Point of Sales (POS) operator, Faith Ibalagha, advised the government to always be sensitive to the plight of the masses.
Banks comply in Rivers
Banks in Rivers paid between N5,000 and N20,000 to their customers yesterday.
Customers who trooped to the banking halls and ATM on Ikwerre Road were able to make withdrawals.
First Bank paid a maximum of N20,000 to each customer while Union Bank paid N5,000.
However, some traders in Diobu were still reluctant to accept the old notes.
“I will begin to accept the old naira notes when I see a person that successfully deposited the money in a bank,” a trader said.
Rejections in Akwa Ibom
Some Akwa Ibom State residents rejected the old notes.
There was a high level of scepticism among business owners and transporters.
Uko Eshiett, a commercial tricycle rider, said he would not accept the old Naira notes until either President Muhammadu Buhari or the CBN governor speaks on the matter.
Mixed reaction in Oyo
The pronouncement by the CBN generated mixed reactions from traders and commuters in Ibadan, the Oyo State, as some expressed uncertainty.
But many banks across the capital city dispensed the old naira notes.
Banks comply in Ebonyi
In Ebonyi, banks started dispensing the old naira notes to the relief of residents who have been queueing up at banks for months.
Ogun residents lament
Many residents of Ogun State returned home disappointed as they could not make withdrawals.
Some who made it to the banks as of 6.3am were able to withdraw between N5,000 and N10,000 in some cases, but others returned home empty after standing in the queue for hours without success.
Banks at Lalibu Street, Okelewo – Abeokuta’s Central Business District (ACBD) – ran out of cash as of 10.30 am.
No cash in Benue ATMs
ATMs in Makurdi, the Benue State capital, had no cash.
A GTBank branch along New Otukpo Road paid N5,000 to customers, who lamented that it was inadequate to take care of their family needs.
Most of the business outfits rejected the old naira notes, claiming they were not aware of the CBN directives.
Relief in Kaduna
In Kaduna, it was a big relief for residents, as some banks started paying the old N500 and N1,000 notes to customers.
Traders across the major markets within the state capital accepted the old notes.
Scarcity in Abia
Few banks operating in both Aba, the commercial nerve, and Umuahia, the Abia State capital, paid the old notes.
Some customers who came to deposit money into their accounts did so with the CBN-generated code.
Long queues were seen in some of the bank branches.
Transport companies and traders in major markets and streets of Aba and Umuahia were sceptical about accepting the old notes.
According to them, the CBN should also come out to address the issue of generating codes before making deposits.
Edo residents relieved
Banks and operators of Point of Sale (PoS) in Benin and its environs in Edo State heaved a sigh of relief following the CBN directive.
However, customers of a bank on Akpakpava Road, Benin, Charles Raymond and Roseline Ehigiator, said they were not paid at the counter.
ATM points were also not loaded either with old or new notes.
Uneasy relief in Kano
Banks in Kano paid the old N1,000 and N500 naira notes to customers, with withdrawals of up to N20,000.
But, ATMs were not dispensing cash.
It was gathered the old notes are not good enough to be dispensed via the ATM terminals.
Boom in Osun
Businesses in Osun State boomed as old naira notes were used for transactions.
Banks across the state, especially in Osogbo, paid the old notes over the counter.
Markets, petrol filling stations, commercial vehicles, malls and supermarkets complied with the directive.
Plateau residents paid
Jos, Plateau State residents who were in the banks early yesterday were paid old notes across the counters. But the ATMs did not dispense cash.
They called on the CBN to release enough cash to the banks to ease the hardship occasioned by naira scarcity.
But some residents were still reluctant to accept the old notes.
A pensioner, Alfred Busari, said: “The CBN should mount extensive public enlightenment campaign just as it did when the new naira notes were introduced.”
“It was the CBN that warned the public to reject the old naira notes and the same CBN said we should go back and accept the old notes.
“They have to embark on a massive campaign to sensitise the people, if not in the village where I come from, they will continue to reject the old notes.”
Banks in Adamawa comply
Banks in Adamawa State paid and accepted the old notes.
At the branches visited by The Nation in Yola, customers expressed joy that they could for the first time in months enter banking halls and come out with reasonable sums.
But at one of the branches, an official said they had no cash to pay
“We are set to receive the old notes from anyone desiring to make a deposit, although we find that people don’t have the cash to bring. On our part too, we have no cash to give out right now,” the official added.
Like in Jos, some Yola traders and transporters did not accept the N500 and N1,000 old notes in the early hours of yesterday.
Cash crunch bites harder in Katsina
Despite the CBN directive cash crunch persisted in Katsina as many banks in the state did not dispense cash.
Celestine Nzekwe, a retailer in Katsina Central Market, said: “Katsina has been left out in the cold with no cash even at the banks, ATM and PoS terminals. There is no cash anywhere.”
Rejections in Imo
Bank customers in Owerri, Imo State rejected the old notes.
At some of the banks along Douglas, Bank and Wetheral roads, customers said the bank officials openly told those that might want to return their withdrawn old currencies to first generate codes from the CBN before returning them.
One of them, Matthew Onyekwere, said: “They told us not to return the old naira notes after collecting them. They said we must first get a code from the CBN before they could accept it back from us.
“We are afraid to collect the old notes because we see it as a Herculean task to go to CBN to get a code that would enable them (banks) to accept back the old notes from us.”
Another customer, who rejected the notes from his bank, said: “When we go to the market to buy foodstuffs, the market men and women are not accepting the old notes.”
Sule appeals to Nasarawa citizens
Nasarawa State Governor, Abdullahi Sule, urged the people to accept the old notes in line with the CBN directive.
He made the call in Lafia shortly after meeting with bank managers at the Government House.
The governor said farmers suffered losses because they could not transport their produce to the market due to a lack of cash.
“I am calling on our people to continue to accept the old notes because they are still legal tender and valid until December,” Sule said.
Kwara governor: rejection of old notes criminal
Kwara State Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq warned that rejection of the old notes constituted a criminal offence.
He, therefore, advised residents of the state, especially traders, to accept and spend the old and new currencies.
The governor said this in a statement by his spokesman, Rafiu Ajakaye.
He described the rejection of the old notes as a serious crime under the law.
AbdulRazaq said: “As per the judgment of the Supreme Court and the latest circular of the CBN, the old naira notes still remain a legal tender in the country.
“Banks are now officially issuing the old Naira notes. I, therefore, urge all residents of our state to spend and receive both the old and the new Naira notes.
“Citizens are to note that rejection of the legal tender, such as the old Naira note, is a serious crime under our law.
“I also implore the banks to kindly extend every support within their powers to our people to ease all their transactions as things return to normal.”
Victory for Nigerians, says Matawalle
AbdulRazaq’s counterpart in Zamfara State, Bello Matawalle, said CBN’s compliance with the Supreme Court order was a victory for Nigerians.
He stated this in a statement by Zailani Bappa, his special adviser on Public Enlightenment, Media and Communications.
According to Bappa, the governor believes that the court procedure which culminated in the reversal of CBN’s earlier implementation of the cashless policy was for the good of the country’s micro-economy and the wellbeing of the common man.
He said: “Those who accused us of going to court for the sake of the Presidential elections, even as Nigerians groaned under the policy implementation, are now proven wrong as we did not relent until we succeeded in achieving our demand to its logical conclusion.
“This is way after we have won the said presidential election.
“All Nigerians can now heave a sigh of relief on this matter, and we expect more cash to be in circulation to ease our pains, while those who were unable to replace their old naira notes with the scarce new notes will no longer lose their hard-earned money.”
