A severe cash shortage has hit Lokoja, the capital city of Kogi State, significantly impacting businesses and daily life for residents.
On Wednesday, most banks in the area experienced cash shortages, leaving customers frustrated and stranded. First Bank limited withdrawals to N40,000 per customer, while Access Bank allowed just N5,000.
Other banks, including GTB, UBA, Zenith, Union Bank, and Eco Bank, restricted over-the-counter withdrawals to between N10,000 and N20,000.
Bank cashiers informed desperate customers that the shortage resulted from insufficient cash supplied by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).
“The cash we got from the Central Bank of Nigeria’s (CBN) today is very small. We have no option than to spread the amount across our branches in the state,” a bank official disclosed anonymously.
He further revealed the impact of the situation, stating:
“As you can see, no customer is paying huge sum in cash as deposit. Many customers in the banking hall are here to withdraw cash but we don’t have cash.”
Business owners heavily dependent on cash transactions are among the hardest hit. Mrs. Janet Adejor, a restaurant manager, expressed distress, questioning how her business would manage without cash.
“This government needs to do something drastic about this cash crunch before these banks run down our businesses. We can’t stand this cash crunch again. We suffered this during the administration of former President Muhamadu Buhari,” Adejor lamented.
A civil servant, Alhaji Anmed Bello, expressed similar frustrations, labeling the cash shortage as “a deliberate policy, targeted at the poor.”
Bello, who intended to withdraw money for travel, was informed there was no available cash.