Afe Babalola charges government to address Dearth Of Cash In Banks
Cash crunch is rocking Nigerian Banks with bankers waiting for depositors before they could raise funds to meet customers’ withdrawal requests.
Platforms Africa gathered exclusively that most of the banks in Ikeja, Agege and Ketu area of Lagos as well as those in Ota, Abeokuta and Ijebu Ode area of Ogun state, have slammed Withdrawal limit of N50,000 per person on customers who have thronged their facilities for cash withdrawal.
At the GTBank along Adeniyi Jones Avenue, Ikeja, customers who requested for between N400,000 and N900,000 were seen protesting the limit of N50,000 slammed on them.
The tellers (as bankers on the counter are called) insisted that none of them could get more than the limit.
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“That is the instruction. They either make transfer or get only N50,000 per person. In fact, I will wait for those who are depositing first before I could get the cash to even pay that N50,000 to each of them,” one of the tellers told Platforms Africa.
Meanwhile, a legal luminary, Chief Afe Babalola, has declared that the cash crunch is rocking banks across the country. He called on the Nigerian Government to address the dearth of cash currently being experienced in the banking sector.
Babalola, who is also the Founder of Afe Babalola University, Ado-Ekiti (ABUAD), made the call in a statement issued on Monday in Ado-Ekiti.
According to him, the development can lead to hunger, high mortality rate, uncontrolled crimes and increased insecurity, if not effectively tackled.
“In recent time, the Central Bank of Nigeria and commercial banks have inflicted cash crunch on customers across the country.
“The cash crunch is being felt in virtually all parts of the country. Many banks have turned customers back for lack of funds, while those who gained entrance into the banking halls went home disappointed.
“Customers can not withdraw cash from the ATM machines in my university. The banks operating in the institution also have no cash to pay to customers.
“The saving grace is that the students who rely on ATM machines are on holiday,” he said.
The legal luminary said the nation’s economic growth was known to be basically trade-by-barter dependent, whereby traders exchanged goods for cash.
He said that presently, most Nigerians earned their living from daily sales.
Babalola acknowledged the fact that cashless policy thrived in developed countries, adding, however, that much cash might not be in high demand in Nigeria because of the policy.
The university founder noted that cash was useful for payment and for other transactions.
