On Monday, it emerged that the country will face increased electricity outages as Egbin power station shut down for maintenance.

Egbin Power is the largest power generating station in Nigeria with an installed capacity of 1,320 MW consisting of 6 Units of 220MW each, contributing over 16 percent of the total electricity generated to the Nigerian National Grid.

The management of the Transmission Company of Nigeria said that Egbin Power Station will be shut down for three days starting Monday on the back of gas pipeline maintenance.

According to this report, the station was shut down at 11:13 hours on December 18, 2023, to allow the Nigeria Gas Company (NGC) to maintain a linking gas pipeline supplying gas to Egbin Power Station.

“This means a reduction of 676 megawatts of bulk power generated into the nation’s grid for 3 days and consequently the quantum of bulk power available to be delivered to distribution companies load centres nationwide for the period,” the company said.

This means that there will be a shortage of electricity generation and supply and blackouts in some areas of the country.

Also, a combination of insider abuse in banks and hoarding by customers has been identified as the cause of the scarcity of cash in the country ahead of the festive season.

Naira scarcity has persisted despite the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) had assured the public of sufficient stock of currency notes in the country.

Many Nigerians are still struggling to have access to enough cash from banks.

Point of Sale (PoS) operators have resorted to buying cash from traders and petrol station attendants to augment what they are able to withdraw from banks.

A banking source said racketeering in banks is also responsible for the naira scarcity.

He said Nigerians pay N36,000 for freshly minted notes worth N20,000, and N63,000 for N50,000. “These guys do this business openly with their PoS machines if you can’t transfer easily to their accounts.”

“CBN staff and security agencies are in this together,” another source who works with a tier-2 bank said.

The central bank said last week that Nigerians were hoarding cash in anticipation that the government might act on the naira redesign programme, despite the Supreme Court’s ruling and the CBN’s statement that the old and the redesigned naira banknotes remain legal tender.

Despite the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN’s) claims of N3.4tr in circulation the action of the POS agents tend to suggest otherwise as some have adjusted their charges between 50% to 100%, depending on one’s location and bargaining power.

Also, several ATMs visited were not dispensing even as bank officials not making promises as when ATMs will continue normal cash dispensing.

However, the POS operators which were the available options for many people have now increased their charges, collecting between N300 and N400 for N10,000 withdrawal instead of the usual N200.

According to a Daily Trust report, POS operators alleged that staff of banks are demanding the sum of N10,000 to get N100,000.

Right now, some operators are charging between N300 and N400 for N10,000, our correspondent further reports.

No cash in the ATM machine of Fidelity Bank by NIMASA Headquarters on Burma Road, Apapa; Access Bank, GTB branches on Burma Road, are also not dispensing.

In Delta, POS operators charge N700 for N20,000. They charge between N200/N300 for N5,000. In some places within Delta State, POS operators charge N300 for N5,000.

Mrs Ese Rebowhe who is a POS operator in Asaba said, “When you go to the bank to collect money, you will not get it as you want; maybe you want to collect N20,000, they will only give you N5000.

In Abeokuta, Ogun State capital, POS operators have increased their charges from N100 to N200 on N5,000 withdrawal, following the naira scarcity in the state.

Findings by our correspondent also showed that commercial banks have pegged the amount of money that can be withdrawn over the counter to N20,000/N50,000.

But at the ATM stands, customers can only make withdrawals of N5,000 to N40,000. “Only Sterling Bank pays N150,000 at the ATM stand and it’s only for the bank’s customers,” a customer said. A POS operator in Abeokuta simply identified as Favour POS told Daily Trust that she now buys cash in order to stay in the business.

“It has affected me a lot. As it is now, I am buying cash. And the reason is that I don’t want to stay at home,” she said.

The Central Bank of Nigeria had on Wednesday assured that there is enough cash in circulation while blaming hoarding for the scarcity. (Daily Trust).

CBN’s admittance following a series of complaints by some bank customers on the scarcity of naira notes at the counters, Automated Teller Machines (ATMs), Points of Sale (PoS), and Bureaux de Change (BDCs).

In a statement issued by the Corporate Communications Department of the CBN, the apex bank said the seeming currency scarcity was occasioned by large volume withdrawals of cash from various CBN branches by Deposit Money Banks (DMBs).

It stated that panic withdrawals by bank customers were also partly responsible for the seeming scarcity.

The CBN said there is no shortage of naira notes, noting that there is an adequate supply of the currency in the economy.

“The attention of the CBN has been drawn to reports of alleged scarcity of cash at banks, ATMs, PoS and BDCs in some major cities across the country.

“Our findings reveal that the seeming cash scarcity in some locations is due largely to high volume withdrawals from the CBN branches by DMBs and panic withdrawals by customers from the ATMs.

“While we note the concerns of Nigerians on the availability of cash for financial transactions, we wish to assure the public that there is sufficient stock of currency notes for economic activities in the country.

“The branches of the CBN across the country are also working to ensure the seamless circulation of cash in their respective states of operation,” it said.

The NLC had planned to launch a nationwide indefinite strike tomorrow (March 29), picketing the offices of the Central Bank of Nigeria and other government offices across the country in protest of the cash crisis, which had caused untold hardships for Nigerians and businesses.

In a monitored broadcast by TechEconomy, the leaders of the union gave the CBN, two weeks to normalize the money supply nationwide.

Details later…

BDAN Chairman, Board of Directors, Mustafa Chike-Obi stated that the organization sympathizes with members of the public at this critical juncture.

“We are mindful of the discomfort and hardship associated with the current currency reform which has introduced the newly designed naira notes and reduction in withdrawal limit. It has indeed been a difficult period for Nigerians and BDAN is making it a top priority to ensure that this hardship is not only addressed but eliminated,” he said.

The group said it is in constant communication with all the banks and is assured that they are all doing whatever is within their control to normalize this difficult situation.

“We enjoin the banking public to maintain peace, rest assured that BDAN is taking all reasonable steps to influence the structure and mechanisms that should free up bottlenecks and open channels that will speed up the resolution of the crisis. The Bank Directors Association of Nigeria (BDAN) hopes to count on the public’s patience, understanding, and cooperation,” he said.

According to reports, some frustrated Nigerians who were unable to withdraw money broke ATM terminals at several banks. Others forced their way into the banking premises in order to cause havoc.

Bank officials are becoming targets and at the receiving end of the anger of frustrated customers.

Videotapes show that some of the bankers were attacked on their way home from work. Bank employees are concerned about potential social unrest if the situation is not addressed, expediently.

“The scarcity is even affecting us who work in the bank.” “I don’t even have the cash to transport myself home after today’s work,” an Acess Bank official who doesn’t want her name mentioned told TechEconomy on a Friday phone call.

“The social unrest is something that scares us too. We don’t dress corporate to work anymore. We oy wear jeans and polo shirts.”

Naira Deadline Saga

Nigerians are currently in a dilemma over two conflicting orders from the Supreme Court of Nigeria and the Central Bank of Nigeria. The CBN has set the deadline for the submission of the old naira notes for today, February 10, but the Court is saying otherwise.

Two days ago, the apex court restrained the Federal Government from implementing the February 10 deadline, after three northern states—Kaduna, Kogi, and Zamfara—had, in a motion ex-parte filed on February 3rd by their lawyer, Abdul Hakeem Mustapha (SAN), prayed the apex court to halt the Central Bank of Nigeria’s (CBN) naira redesign policy.

Meanwhile, in another judgment, the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) High Court in Wuse Zone 2, Abuja, directed the CBN to ensure that its 10-day deadline for the validity of old naira notes is met.

Eleojo Enenche, the judge, issued the order on Monday in response to an ex parte application filed by four opposition political parties.

The four parties—Action Alliance (AA), Action Peoples Party (APP), Allied Peoples Movement (APM), and National Rescue Movement (NRM)—claimed in their applications that Nigerian banks were undermining the CBN’s new monetary policy.

At the time of filing this report, Nigerians were still using the old naira notes and felt reluctant to abide by the CBN rules owing to the fact that the new naira note and the old ones were still scarce.