Naira crisis: Residents now sleep at ATM points in FCT councils
…As motorists, tricycle riders reject old notes Some bank customers in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) have resorted to sleeping at ATM points in some of the area councils in order to access the new naira notes. Our reporter, who visited some ATM points in Gwagwalada and Kuje councils in the early hours of Wednesday, […]
- …As motorists, tricycle riders reject old notes
Some bank customers in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) have resorted to sleeping at ATM points in some of the area councils in order to access the new naira notes.
Our reporter, who visited some ATM points in Gwagwalada and Kuje councils in the early hours of Wednesday, saw many customers on queues waiting for the banks to open for business.
Mrs Gladys Jonathan, who spoke with our reporter in Kuje, said she left her house around 3am to come and withdraw money in order to pay hospital bill of her child.
She said she met customers sleeping with clothes covering their body, stating that she was able to withdraw N5,000 instead of the N12,000 she needed to pay the balance of the bill.
Another bank customer, Japheth Israel, who spoke with our reporter at an ATM point in Gwagwalada, said he was forced to spend the night there because of the population of customers who waited for several hours to make withdrawal.
He said, “In fact, for the past two days, I could not access money, and I decided to come and sleep at the ATM point yesterday night in order to make a withdrawal.”
Joseph Etsu, a resident of Bwari, told City News that he slept at one of the ATM points close to the popular T-junction in the town on Tuesday night in order to get cash only to be able to withdraw N5,000 the following morning.
The resident pleaded with the relevant stakeholders to come to the aid of the masses.
Similarly, commuters are groaning over the rejection of the old naira notes by commercial motorists and tricycle operators in Abuja.
Our reporter, who went round some parts of Abuja City and satellite towns on Wednesday, observed as commuters, especially civil servants, resorted to trekking to their places of work after motorists and tricycle operators rejected the old naira notes from them.
It was also observed at Iddo-Sarki and Lugbe areas how commuters stood by the road sides after taxi drivers who stopped to pick passengers refused to collect the old notes.
At the Berger and Area 1 roundabouts, commuters were seen trekking far distances.
A civil servant, Lawal Alhassan, told our reporter that he was forced to embark on trekking to the office as drivers rejected the old naira notes from him.
He said, “I stay at Lugbe, and it was even a friend who was coming to Ako Estate that gave me a lift. Now I have to trek from the National Hospital to the Federal Secretariat as taxi drivers have rejected the old notes from me.”
Another commuter, Mrs Agnes Laruba, at the Berger Roundabout, said she had been waiting to board a taxi to Life Camp for over two hours, noting that the taxi drivers that stopped for her demanded new naira notes.