With five days to the expiration of old naira notes as legal tender, the new naira notes are yet to be issued by most banks in Onitsha, the commercial nerve centre of Southeast zone, even as customers storm the banks in large number to deposit old notes and collect new ones.
At the New market road that stretches from Onitsha Main market to Ogbommanu junction, that houses most banks in the State, none of them has reportedly paid customers with the new naira notes five days to expiration of old naira notes.
Most of the Pay On Sales, POS, agents in Onitsha and environs neither receive old naira notes nor pay new ones to their customers, thereby frustrating smooth running of business activities in the area
A banker in one of the new generation banks along New Market road who pleaded anonymity told our correspondent that they have not gotten enough to pay to the intimidating crowd that surge the bank .
“It is not our fault, we have not gotten enough for payment to our customers. So the little we get we pay through ATM, we don’t pay on the counter as directed by CBN. Our agents don’t even have new notes to pay to their customers but with time all will be well.
“By the time we get to 31 January, 2023, that is the expiration date for the old naira notes, the new naira notes may likely have circulated. So let the customers be patient with us because we are not hoarding the new naira as they claimed.
In her reaction a POS agent who simply identified herself as Nkiruka, said that she has not even seen the new naira notes let alone paying them to her customers.
“I have not even seen it, let alone paying to my customers. What I have here are old naira notes and I no longer receive the old naira notes because to exchange it in the banks for new ones is now problem because the banks said they have not gotten enough of the new notes.
” I told most of my customers that the problem is not from me. We are waiting for the banks to improve on the payment of the new notes.So I don’t receive old naira notes any longer” she affirmed.
In his reaction, a transporter, Chief John Mmaka, hinted that politicians have bought all the new notes from banks for their election, stating that the bankers should be held responsible for scarce new notes.
” The new naira notes are in the hands of politicians now. They bought the new notes from banks at a very exorbitant prices. The only way out of the quagmire is to sanction the banks found to have sold out these new notes to the politicians,” he stated.