Daily Review (Thursday): Residents of Zaria, Samaru and key settlements around the ancient city have decried the persistent scarcity of new naira notes as people are grappling to switch to cashless transaction.
At Ahmadu Bello University, Samaru Campus, for three days in a row, POS operators have run out of cash to meet the growing cash demands from the students who need money to survive in the campus. Daily Review visited Aliko Dangote Hall where dismayed students expressed their unhappiness with paucity of cash as many businesses and services such as keke Napep operators, business centers and kiosk owners are rejecting cashless transactions.
“I cannot find cash anywhere. I had to trek yesterday from Faculty of Arts to Dangote Hall simply because I cannot get cash to pay,” said a 300-level student who did not want to have his name mentioned.
A POS operator and business owners are now accepting cashless transactions with POS operator allowing 1000 naira withdrawal limit due to the fact there is no enough cash.
At Zaria Flyover motor park, dozens of passengers had been stranded with most of the drivers refusing bank transfer payment, fearing they may not be able to get cash anytime soon.
“I have been at this park for three hours. I cannot get cash from ATMs, PoS, and the drivers are refusing to accept any form of payment other than cash.
Daily Review gathers that some PoS operators are fleecing money out of desperate passengers with some charging 100 naira for every 1000 naira.
“I withdrew 5000 naira and I was charged 500 naira,” said Habiba, a married woman traveling to Jos to attend friend’s wedding.
While the scarcity of naira notes are making people jittery, many people expressed their readiness to resort to using bank transaction in order to assuage people’s suffering.
According to Haruna Zubair, people should have to come to terms with the economic reality saying cashless policy has come to stay, and urging people to do the needful and make sure they are integrated into the banking sector.
“The CBN won’t change its policy. The thing is people should understand that cashless policy is here to stay. The world has moved on, and Nigeria should lag behind. Nigerians will sooner or later adjust to the system, but the problem can only be solved if people are willing to open bank accounts and integrate into the banking system,” he said.
