Naira scarcity: CBN orders banks to operate on Saturday, Sunday

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has directed Deposit Money Banks (DMBs) across the country to open for operation on Saturdays and Sundays to end naira scarcity.

The CBN said it has evacuated naira notes from its vaults to commercial banks to ease the circulation of banknotes across the country.

The Acting Director, Corporate Communications Department of the CBN, Dr. Isa AbdulMumin, disclosed this in Abuja on Friday, March 24, 2023.

AbdulMumin stated that a substantial amount of money, in various denominations, had been received by the commercial banks for onward circulation to their respective customers.

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He said the CBN had also directed all banks to load their Automated Teller Machines (ATMs) as well as conduct physical operations in the banking halls through the weekends.

“Branches of commercial banks will operate on Saturdays and Sundays to attend to customers’ cash needs,” he noted.

The CBN spokesperson added that the apex bank’s Governor, Godwin Emefiele, would personally lead teams to monitor the level of compliance by the banks in various locations across the country.

He, therefore, urged Nigerians to be patient, saying the current situation would ease soon with the injection of more banknotes into circulation.

The Star