Barely 24hrs after the circulation of the new Nigeria currencies across all banking halls, the new notes have been mopped up by wealth bank customers and cash resellers.
According to a report from the Punch, despite the banks’ insistence on managing the distribution of the cash due to scarcity, some groups of influential bank customers had penetrated the banks and were being provided new notes exceeding the limits set by the individual banks.
An anonymous source from a bank who spoke to a Punch correspondent had observed that currency hawkers, who have in the past made it impossible for regular customers to possess clean notes, known as ‘mint’, have discovered a way to round up the redesigned naira notes almost immediately.
“Our ogas (bosses) are in partnership with the currency hawkers, and we tellers dare not go against them as our continued stay on the job depends largely on them. One of the hawkers, who I am friendly with, told me that she wanted to cash in on Nigerians’ eagerness for the new notes to make profits before the daily withdrawal limits set by the CBN begin at the end of January,” said the source
