Long queues yesterday
emerged in most commercial banks across the country following noticeable cash
withdrawal scarcity and inability of customers to obtain cash to embark on
Christmas shopping.
GRAPHITTI
NEWS/LEADERSHIP report continues:
Our
reporters’ checks at most of the commercial banks showed rising difficulties by
customers in the banking hall and Automatic Teller Machine (ATM) points to have
access to make withdrawals.
The
large number of customers noticed at most banks was attributed to the recent
payment of salaries some state governments to civil servants and the rush by
customers to embark on travels to their villages.
Rivers
In
Port Harcourt, the Rivers State capital, some bank workers who preferred anonymity
wondered why there were many people on queues to withdraw money.
A
few customers who spoke to our correspondents said all the banks were rationing
money and not paying customers with large withdrawals the full values of
cheque presented.
A
Skye Bank customer, Dr Mrs Okafor, described a scene which she observed at her
branch where one irate customer threatened a bank teller, insisting he should be
paid the full he wished to withdraw or the teller would not attend to anybody
else on the queue as many people who ought to have travelled were waiting for
him for payment.
Dr
Okafor told reporters that she had noticed that some customers had openly
voiced their frustrations over network failure and the inability of most ATMs
to dispense cash.
“This lengthy queues have been noticeable in Port Harcourt banks for the past few months even before the Yuletide rush,” she concluded.
Bayelsa
In
Yenagoa, the Bayelsa State capital, some bank workers who declined to
mention their names attributed the difficulty of customers to access cash to
the shortage of cash supplied to the state.
Worried
by the development, the Bayelsa State government, through the state
Commissioner for Finance, Mr. Maxwell Ebibai, in a statement issued on
Wednesday, confirmed that the attention of the state government had been drawn
to the information that some civil servants and officials in the state were
having challenges collecting their salaries due to lack of cash in various
banks in the state.
The
statement noted: “It is indeed sad but also worthy to note that it is not the
fault of the state government as it is on record that the governor did fulfil
his promise of ensuring that civil servants in the state get their salaries
before the yuletide celebration, but the situation that is being faced right now
in the banks is applicable in other states and not only in Bayelsa state.
“As
a proactive government, we have decided to inform our people that we are
currently engaging and interfacing with the various banks to ensure that civil
/public servants and Bayelsans in general would receive their entitlement to
ease the pain and stress that they may face.”
Taraba
In
Taraba State, long queues resumed in banks within Jalingo, the state capital,
as account holders in various commercial banks and civil servants made frantic
efforts to make withdrawals in preparation for the Christmas celebration.
Our
correspondent who visited some banks operating in the state observed long
queues at First Bank of Nigeria, Guaranty Trust Bank, Stanbic IBTC, Fidelity,
Zenith FCMB, Eco bank Diamond bank and Skye bank.
Some
customers, who spoke to our correspondent, expressed their frustrations over
network failure and the inability of most ATMs to dispense cash.
A
customer, Mr Innocent Ibiodu, told reporters that he had gone to more than six
banks before he could make his withdrawal.
Delta
In
Delta State, It was gathered that long queues of depositors at the ATM machines
caused a harrowing experience for customers who resorted to shouting match
among themselves.
For
instance, in Asaba and Warri, the situation was said to be chaotic for
depositors who, in most cases, were anxious to withdraw their money. At various
banks such as UBA, First Bank, and Union Bank, among others, depositors’
experiences were pitiable.
One
of the bank depositors, Mrs. Marry Ogbeideh, said, “I have been at the UBA ATM
stand since morning. I could not withdraw my money; when it got to my turn, the
ATM could not pay again”.
Cross River
Also,
bank customers in Calabar yesterday decried the continuous long queues and
unavailability of cash at Automated Teller Machines (ATMs) in the metropolis.
Checks
by our correspondent indicated that virtually all the ATMs situated along
Ndidem Usang Isong road between the hours of 2pm and 4pm on Thursday could not
dispense cash to anxious looking customers.
Most
of the ATMs visited had the following message, “Temporarily out of service”
among others, signalling network failure.
Kaduna
In
Kaduna, our correspondent who visited banks around the metropolis witnessed
large numbers of customers who were there either to withdraw or make deposits.
Several
of such banks visited saw large customers queuing beside most of the Automatic
Teller Machines (ATMs) to make withdrawals or transfer as the case may be.
Some
of the customers who spoke to reporters said they had been on queue for almost
two hours trying to make withdrawals.
“I
have been on queue for almost two hours now, the machine is very slow in
dispensing cash and I need money to buy some things for Christmas celebration”,
said Mrs Juliana Danladi.
Kogi
It
has been hectic for bank customers in Lokoja, the Kogi State capital in the
last couple of days as rush to cash money for the festive period gathered
momentum.
The
experience of customers in Lokoja varied from bank to bank, as some
customers lamented their difficulty in making withdrawals in the banks, while
others complained about ATMs not dispensing cash, as well as the long queues.
Some
of them said they waited on the queues for about four hours and at the point of
getting the money, the cash had already been drained from the machine’s vaults,
resulting in so many people being disappointed.
However, those whose salary
in the state had entered the bank expressed confidence that when the period is
over, they are sure of collecting their money.
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