CBN instructs banks to open Saturdays, Sundays
As part of a coordinated effort to facilitate the circulation of banknotes of various denominations, the Central Bank of Nigeria has ordered all commercial banks to operate for business on Saturdays and Sundays.
The country’s top bank also acknowledged that banknotes had been moved out of its vaults and into commercial banks all around the nation.
Isa AbdulMumin, the acting director of the CBN’s corporate communications department, announced this most recent event in a statement on Friday afternoon in Abuja.
According to the statement, commercial banks had received a sizeable sum of money in a variety of denominations for distribution to their consumers, even though banks were still required to carry out physical activities in banking halls on the weekends.
Excerpts of the statement read: “The CBN has directed all banks to load their Automated Teller Machines, 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.
“The Governor of Central Bank of Nigeria, Mr Godwin Emefiele, would personally lead teams to monitor the level of compliance by the banks in various locations across the country,” it stressed.
The bank advised Nigerians to have patience since the current situation will soon improve as additional banknotes entered circulation.
The Spectator says that following a Supreme Court decision and a Nigeria Labour Congress protest planned for the following week, authorities have increased efforts to end the acute cash shortage that has caused anguish to millions of bank clients nationwide.
