Why Scarcity Of Lower Denomination Persists

For more than two months running, lack of low naira denominations has persisted which has led to the slow pace of business activities.

Our business correspondent went to town to find out what might have caused such development.

According to Dum Johnson, a banker, banks concentrate more on paying out higher denominations through their transactions to customers without complimenting it with the lower denominations.

He explained that this practice enable the banks have the lower denominations to themselves at the detriment of the public.

He said even when people use the “automated teller machines”, ATM non pays lower denominations even as he said the practice was deliberate as the machines could not take the bulk of the lower denominations.

For Olatunji Lawal, a transporter, the sale of the lower denominations of the naira on percentage basis was another cause of the scarcity of the lower denomination of the naira.

He alleged that some bank staff provide the lower denomination notes to outsiders who sell them on commission basis.

The trade he added was mostly concentrated at garrison bus stop and the flyover park and around Oil Mill market area all in Port Harcourt.

Our correspondent visited First Bank, UBA and FCMB all in Aba road to verify the allegations of such transactions.

At the customer service of all the banks visited, staff who would not give their names, however, denied the allegations. Investigation by our correspondent indicated that if one wants to exchange one thousand naira note for twenty naira notes the seller would pay nine hundred naira leaving a balance of N100 as gain.

According to Stella (not real name) who does such business, “it is lucrative and you have your gain fast fast”.

She said they were mostly patronised by taxi and bus drivers including traders even as she said some people still need it for spraying at events.