The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has confirmed The Nation’s report that it has massively increased the supply of cash to banks.
The CBN on Friday said it has commenced the evacuation of bank notes from its vaults to commercial banks across the country.
The statement signed by the Acting Director of, the Corporate Communications Department of the CBN, Dr Isa AbdulMumin, said the evacuation is “part of a coordinated effort to ease the circulation of banknotes of various denominationsâ€.
The CBN has also directed all commercial banks to open for operation on Saturdays and Sundays.
It said: “a substantial amount of money, in various denominations, had been received by the commercial banks for onward circulation to their respective customers†In addition, the CBN also directed all banks to load their Automated Teller Machines (ATMs) as well as conduct physical operations in the banking halls through the weekends. Branches of commercial banks will operate on Saturdays and Sundays to attend to customers’ cash needs,†the apex bank said. Within the Abuja metropolis, the cash supply from the banks improved on Friday.
Most banks at Garki Areas 7 and 8 were seen attending to large crowds of customers.
Another set of crowds was seen making withdrawals from ATMs in old notes.
The story was however different at Nyanyan on the outskirts of Abuja.
Some banks closed to customers as early as noon because they were yet to receive cash from their head offices.