Naira scarcity: Long queues persist in Imo

Days after the Central Bank of Nigeria said it has released old notes to Deposit Money Banks, scarcity of naira notes still bites harder in Imo State.

Some of the residents told DAILY POST that they were still unable to access either the old or the new notes from banks.

At the Ekeukwu Owerri Market, a plantain seller, Mrs. Ngozi Ibeawuchi said: “I don’t know how to describe this policy because it affects both the buyers and the sellers.

“It has made life miserable for everyone. I have run out of stock but I can’t access funds to purchase my goods.”

Mrs. Blessing Ekeh, a yam seller at Relief market, complained that her business had been struggling despite the release of the old notes.

“Sometimes, when someone transfers money to my account, I don’t get a notification, and my account isn’t credited. With the onset of the naira problem, I have suffered losses.

“Therefore, I made the decision to only accept cash, and this has a negative impact on sales. But, I have continued to only accept transfers from customers I know well,” she said.

An elderly, woman, Mrs. Margret Ego, who also sells pepper, tomatoes, Ogbono, and soup thickener, pleaded with the Federal Government to put more efforts towards resolving the naira crisis.

When asked how the naira shortage had affected her business, the woman responded that sales had dropped drastically.

Meanwhile, many customers were seen in large numbers at the entrance of some commercial banks visited around Bank Road, Douglas Road, Wetheral Road, and other areas.

Zenith Bank, Access Bank, and a few other banks in Bank Road Owerri were handing out old notes.

But in contrast to the CBN directive, some of the banks in Owerri, the capital of Imo State, said they had no cash available