Just in: Banks abandon ATMs to avoid CBN hammer on loading old cash
Strong indication emerged Monday afternoon suggesting a Cat and Dog fight between the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and Money Deposit Bank (MDBs) in Nigeria on the circulation of redesigned naira notes.
This is observed based on the fact that from today (Monday, January 23, 2023), when the apex bank is slated to start sanctioning banks still loading their ATMs with old notes rather than new ones, checks across several parts of Lagos showed that all ATMs run empty.
Also check inside banking halls still showed dispensing of old naira notes in some banks and mixture of both in few others.
Today, Monday will be eight days to the January 31 deadline set by the apex bank to stop the old N1,000, N500, and N200 notes from being legal tender.
The development is coming despite the apex bank and depositing banks’ assurances that Nigerians would begin to receive the new naira notes from ATMs across different platforms.
Some public affairs analysts say the CBN Governor is aiming at punishing politicians who knocked out of the presidential race in a controversial circumstance last year. They also allege that the sudden emergence of niara note change may be a ploy to frustrate the 2023 general election.
