Naira Scarcity:Angry Customers Ground CBN Office In Abuja

Dozens of angry cash depositors, on Wednesday, prevented movement in and out of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) office in Garki, Abuja.

The customers, who visited the CBN office to deposit their old naira notes as directed by the apex bank, prevented staff and visitors from accessing the building.

They were surprised when they realised that what they had hoped would be a simple process turned out to be long hours of waiting.

Angered by the development, the customers blocked the entrance of the apex bank’s office for hours, preventing access to the building.

“We came here with the hope of depositing our old notes as CBN asked us to do. But we are disappointed because the CBN portal is not working and no official came out to address us or give us the form to fill.

“The suffering is becoming unbearable. We laboured hard to earn money and still struggle again to access the money,” said Folashade Bello, who said she had been waiting for about four hours.

Another customer, who simply identified himself as David, said, “We had been waiting here for hours without achieving anything. They said we should write names, we did but still nothing. The portal is malfunctioning. No one came out to give us form to fill. People came from as far as Suleja hoping to deposit cash and return home. This is double ‘wahala’. You stress to deposit old notes, you stress to get new notes.”

It took the intervention of police officers from the FCT Police Command to calm the cash depositors after several hours of barricading the building entrance.