The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has informed Nigerians that the country has an adequate supply of Naira notes.
Isa AbdulMumin, the bank’s Director of Corporate Communications, stated this in an Abuja statement on Thursday.
Recently, several bank clients have complained about a lack of Naira notes at counters, Automated Teller Machines (ATMs), Points of Sale (PoS), and Bureaux de Change (BDCs).
According to Abdulmumin, the apparent currency scarcity is caused by enormous amounts of cash being withdrawn from various CBN branches by Deposit Money Banks (DMBs).
He claimed that panic withdrawals by bank customers were also to blame for the seeming scarcity.
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“The attention of the CBN has been drawn to reports of alleged scarcity of cash at banks, ATMs, PoS and BDCs in some major cities across the country.
“Our findings reveal that the seeming cash scarcity in some locations is due largely to high volume withdrawals from the CBN branches by DMBs and panic withdrawals by customers from the ATMs.
“While we note the concerns of Nigerians on the availability of cash for financial transactions, we wish to assure the public that there is sufficient stock of currency notes for economic activities in the country.
“The branches of the CBN across the country are also working to ensure the seamless circulation of cash in their respective states of operation,” he said.
The director recommended the public to avoid panic withdrawals because there was enough stock to support economic activity.
He also asked Nigerians to adopt other payment methods, which would relieve the demand on physical cash.
