By Ogochukwu Isioma in Benin City
Some commercial banks in Benin City, the Edo State capital, opened for operations on Saturday and Sunday in line with the directives of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).
metrowatchxtra.com monitored the situation on Sunday and reports that most banks in the city opened for operations as directed by the apex bank.
One of the banks, United Bank for Africa (UBA) visited along the Uselu-Lagos expressway, near the University of Benin Teaching Hospital (UBTH), opened for operations at about 10:00 a.m. and closed to customers at about 1:00 p.m.
Other banks within the Ugbowo metropolis that also opened for operations and dispensed cash to customers include Zenith Bank and First Bank, all in Egor Local Government Area of Edo.
At the UBA, Ugbowo branch, near UBTH where this Reporter first visited, some customers were seen in the banking hall withdrawing cash, while others were waiting outside the bank premises for their turn.
Upon arrival at the bank, our correspondent who posed as a customer making withdrawal, was immediately approached by a friendly middle-aged security staff, who issued and handed over a withdrawal slip to the Journalist.
“Oga, you wan withdraw abi? We open, no worry! Any amount wey you want, we dey give. Shey una dey find money abi? CBN don give order. We dey pay any amount wey una want, we don vex,” the security staff told this Reporter in Pidgin English.
Checks by metrowatchxtra.com revealed that the UBA bank has been paying customers up to N100,000 (individuals and non-corporate) across the counter with the old N1,000 Naira notes.
Some customers, who spoke to this Reporter, expressed satisfaction at the smooth conduct of the exercise, adding that they were happy with the development.
One of the customers, who gave her name simply as Madam Janet, expressed relief over the CBN’s directives and compliance by commercial banks, while lamenting the extortions by Point of Sales (PoS) operators.
According to her, most PoS operators in the city were charging up to N300 to withdraw N1,000. She lamented that she had earlier withdrawn N5,000 of the old Naira notes and was charged N1,500 for it.
For Mr. Onaiwu, a civil servant who said PoS operators in Benin would soon start begging for patronage, he revealed that he was able to withdraw N40,000 he filled in his withdrawal slip with no stress over the counter.
An official of the bank, who craved anonymity, told metrowatchxtra.com that the bank opened for operations in obedience to the CBN’s directives. She, however, declined comments when asked if the bank was paying above the apex bank’s daily withdrawal limit.
“We opened for operations before 10:00 a.m today(Sunday) and even on Saturday(yesterday) in line with the directives from the CBN. We disbursed the amount of choice requested by the customers and we pay special attention to the elderly and nursing mothers,” the staff said.
However, it was observed that while the UBA bank was paying up to N100,000 over the counters to happy customers, their Automated Tellers Machines (ATMs) were not loaded with cash.
metrowatchxtra.com reports that the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) recently directed all commercial banks to open on weekends from February 25, 2023 to dispense cash to customers.
The apex bank instructed deposit banks to permit over-the-counter withdrawals during the weekend and load their automated teller machines (ATMs) with cash to mitigate the cash scarcity plaguing the country.
