BREAKING NEWS: NAIRA SWAP-EFCC. ICPC, OFFICIALS SWOOP ON BANKS ALLEGEDLY HOARDING CBN NEW NOTES

Barely 24 hours after President Muhammadu Buhari had accused the Money Deposit banks of being grredy and inefficient in the dispensing of the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, under the close watch of Godwin Emefiele, security agencies personnel have swopped on them across the country.

The news making the rounds in several parts of the country was that some greedy bankers and their Point of Sale, POS, agents, agents, collaborators have been arrested and detained by Nigerian Police Force, NPF, under the close watch of Usman Alkali Baba, and Abdulaziz Bawa led Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC , as well as Independent Corrupt Practices Commission, ICPC, which has Bolaji Owasanoye as the Chairman and are currently been questioned for hoarding the new naira notes.

In arresting 10 suspects, the CBN and EFCC, joint task force , were said to have raided some four banks and areas, at Abuja, the Federal Capital Territory, on Thursday , February 2, 2023, in search of persons suspected to be hoarding and selling the new naira Notes. Abubakar Kure, a CBN, Director and Managing Director of NIRSAL Micro-Finance Bank, had said that that the arrests of the suspects in Garki Areas 3 and 7, were made after it was discovered that the banks were violating the CBN guidelines.

Even, the ICC, on its part, had arrested some other officials of two Commercial banks at the FCT, for alleged sabotage and hoarding of the new naira Notes with the intention to sell to the public and make profit from the sweat of other Nigerians.

That much much was confirmed by Mrs. Azuka Ogugua, the Commission spokesperson. The Abuja banker was said to have played into the hands of the ICPC, personnel, over his deliberate refusal to upload cash into the bank’s ATM, despite collecting the cash to do so.

The circumstances that may have led to the arrest of the banker at the FCT, may not have been different from that of the arrest of the Operation Manager of a bank at Osogbo, Capital of Osun, Rauf Aregbesola, minister of Interior home state for questioning. The ICPC Compliance Team, in the state, acting on information, were said to have busted into an undisclosed bank in the Osun state Capital where some ATMs were loaded with cash with their wrappers unremoved, thus preventing the cash from being dispensed to Customers.

The ICPC Compliance Team, in the south west state were said to have also arrested seven POS , operators and asecurity Guard, for charging exorbitant Commissions for the new naira Notes. They were said got the money from Filling stations that collect new Notes from fuel buyers and resell the cash to the public at exorbitant rates to make huge profits. The Nigerian government secret police had accused some Commercial bank officials whose identity remained a closely guided secret as aiding and abetting the fraud.

Ogugua, the ICPC, spokesperson had said the arrested persons by the ICPC, in connection with the abuse of the new naira Notes are currently helping the Commission with more information to assist in thevestigations to bust other syndicates involved in the hoarding and sale of the new Notes.

Recall that late January 2021, the DDSS, had arrested some members of an organised syndicate selling the new naira Notes in some parts of the country. The arrests of the suspected members of the syndicate selling the new naira Notes was said to have come against the backdrop of the unleashing of the anti-corruption agencies, EFCC and ICPC, on the banks , over alleged hoarding and diversion of the new Notes.

Babagana Zulum, a Professor and governor of Borno, a north eastern state under the siege of the Islamic Fundamentalist Group , BokoHaram and the Islamic state of West African Province, ISWAP, may have taken up the battle with the banks in the state to force them to make available the new naira Notes to Customers.

The Borno state governor who is not happy happy that social and economic activities have stagnated in the state due to the alleged hoarding and refusal of the banks to dispense the new naira Note through their ATMs and banking halls. An aggrieved Zulum, who could not hide his feelings was said to have threatened to revoke their Land allocation if they fail to turn a new leaf. He could not understand why the banks would claim that there is no money in their vault and some of the ATMS in the state are not operating when the government had just release of N5 million into the bans that should not have created any problem with the CBN policy on withdrawal limit. He lamented that in the entire Local Government Area of Gubio, a population of 70,000 people, in the state, last week, it was impossible to source N100,000.00, neither of the new CBN Notes or old naira Notes.

He noted that that a ram that is worth N100,000.00 is now being sold for N35,000.00 in the state because people are desperate for cash. Appealing to Emefiele, the CBN, governor, to do everything within his powers to ensure the availability of the new Notes at Commercial banks for people to access their money, he noted that it is the only way for the wicked rich people to stop going to rural areas across the country the country to exploit the poor people.

As a prelude to addressing the cash crunch in the country, the CBN, governor who, many believe appears to have lost focus since he returned back to the country from his forced annual leave after being threatened by Yusuf Magaji Bichi, led Department of State Security, DSS , of arrest of sponsoring terrorism in the country and economic sabotage , may have adopted some fire brigade actions.

He had said that that the apex bank will extend cash swaps to Microfinance banks and engage 30,00 super agents in the hinterlands to further help accelerate the circulation of the new naira Notes. He did not stop there.

He had said that the CBN, is also discussing with the money deposits banks to make alternative channels of dispensing the ne naira Notes possible. The cash crunch I the major cities and towns in the country whre the volume of business is very high may have informed why the CBN Authorities may have resorted plan B, to move money from some bank branches that have cash in their vaults because there was no demand for them to areas where there is pressure.

Addressing Financial Journalists in Lagos recently, Emefiele had revealed that officials of the apex bank, Commercial bank, and other important stakeholders are looking at area where ‘’there is pressure and doong everything possible to address such areas. He may have alluded that Lagos, the nation’s Commercial nerve centre, FCT, Kaduna, Port Harcourt, Warri, where there is large volume of business.

The Katsina sate born Nigerian President who may have gone back to the CBN, governor, on how to address the cash crunch challenge in the country had asked Nigerians on Friday, 3, 3=2023, after meeting with the All progressive Congress, APC, governor at the As Villa, to give him one week to resolve the lingering problem. How he intended to solve the problem that have defiled all known CBN and Commercial banks means of circulation measures remain to be seen.