•Policy already compromised –Ezekwesili
By Chinwendu Obienyi
The current trend of economic hardship occasioned by the scarcity of the redesigned naira notes could further worsen as hopes of customers getting respite from banks remained remote as at yesterday.
This is coming as customers, businessmen and entrepreneurs continued to lament the sustained scarcity of naira notes Monday.
Following President Muhammadu Buhari’s pronouncement of the old N200 notes as the legal tender during last week’s national broadcast, Nigerians were optimistic that the notes would be in all the banks by beginning of this week.
However, Daily Sun investigations reveal that some banks branches failed to operate as they were seen under lock and key while those that operated, only accepted deposits in old notes from customers who had successfully completed the forms of the link for deposits of old notes and met the requirements mandated by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).
As at yesterday, long queues were seen at Automated Teller Machines (ATMs) as customers were only allowed to withdraw N5,000 per transaction.
Daily Sun also observed that UBA and FCMB as at 12 noon began disbursing the old N200 notes across the counter. However, only N5,000 and N10,000 of the old notes were disbursed.
Customers who spoke to Daily Sun said they were left disappointed and that they have resorted to buying foodstuffs for themselves and sending to their parents and relatives who have since cried out that banks in rural areas were not operating.
Daily Sun had reported that businesses especially the small medium enterprises (SMEs) across the country have continued to count their losses over low patronage from customers and Nigerians.
Also, ever since Buhari’s pronouncement, Daily Sun observed that some Point of Sale (PoS) operators had closed shop either due to fear of being lynched or scarcity of the notes.
Mr Godswill Abara, a businessman, said, “I felt today would be different and that we will see the old N200 notes paid over the counter or even gotten from PoS operators but I have gone from bank branches to the other, they are under lock and key. People have been standing outside these branches. There is a heavy queue at ATMs especially if customers discover they are paying and it is only entitled that when withdrawing, you withdraw N5000.
“I called a friend of mine whose wife works in a bank to ask if banks are not paying, she told me that some of the banks’ branches do not have money, hence their reasoning for not opening. Although we were told that banks will open today and dispensed N200 notes, I have not got a kobo since today.”
A staff of new generation bank, told Daily Sun that her bank’s ATM before the crisis started used to disburse N20-N24 million just from Friday to Sunday, but can longer boast of doing so now.
“The available money we had as on Friday was only N1 million which we put in the ATM for the whole weekend,” she said.
Speaking further, Francisca Anuforo, a businesswoman, told Daily Sun that the shortage of cash has forced people to close their shops and expressed concern over the elections holding this weekend.
“Most people have now resorted to buying foodstuffs and sending via transport to their families living in the rural areas because they simply do not have the new notes to buy commodities and this is because banks are not operating. I want to go to the market and buy foodstuffs to send to my in-laws.
“If these banks do not work, I have a strong feeling that elections may not hold this weekend. We have seen violence across the states and opposition parties who have been aggrieved by the President’s decision may decide to use this as an opportunity to sponsor thugs to unleash mayhem. Look at our kids who are back from school, from tomorrow, their holidays start, how do they expect us to feed them until March? We are scared to go out further to search for money because it is the living and not the dead that can eat,” she said.
Commenting on the development, Fiscal policy partner Africa tax leader at PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC), Taiwo Oyedele, described it as a confusing and chaotic one for Nigerians.
According to Oyedele, the implementation has not met the desired result. “I just think or feel we should have done things in a planned manner. We have not matured to this level of confusion and I must state that there is no harm in redesigning the currency or even trying to adopt digital payment or cashless economy as this has been done by different countries with Nigeria not an exception.
“I just think this situation should be a reference point globally for the right reasons and with what we are doing now, people will refer to Nigeria as a “bad case study” of how not to redesign a currency, that is certainly not a good thing or good place you want to be in history but unfortunately, this is actually playing out.”
When asked for solutions, Oyedele said the CBN should go back to re-strategizing and tap into data to solve the problem.
“The CBN should tap into data to solve this scarcity. They can also partner key stakeholders and involve relevant agencies of government and especially the tax system as tax is primarily objective and anti-graft agencies, infrastructure providers and get to know how much time they need to get this problem done,” she said.
It was a surprise to everyone that the Ministry of Finance did not even know.
Based on the NDIC report that about 98 per cent of bank accounts in Nigeria have N500,000 or less means that 2 per cent have more than N500,000 and I can say that cumulatively every Nigerian can bring up to N500,000 in cash, will collect it and want to withdraw it. If it is not more than that amount, maybe up to N5 million, you make the process more difficult by asking more questions, filling more forms, getting tax authorities, NFIU and the EFCC involved. That way you do not find so many more people showing up at your office saying they want to deposit old notes”.
With rumours swirling round that politicians are devising means to transfer money to voters at the weekend, Former Vice President, World Bank, Oby Ezekwesili, said the CBN’s cashless policy has been “compromised”.
Ezekwesili further noted that banks were not adequately prepared for the policy while there are no infrastructures built for the policy to effectively work.
“Although the policy is quite commendable, the FG is using the CBN to get criminals when they can get these criminals by themselves. The masses are bearing the brunt and not the so called politicians but with this situation, the policy move has been compromised because they have burgled the operational plan of the policy”, she said