President Muhammadu Buhari has blamed ‘unscrupulous’ bank officials for the scarcity of new naira notes in the country, alleging that they were frustrating his government’s attempt to sanitize the country’s financial system.
Buhari said this during his address to Nigerians on Thursday over the scarcity of newly introduced naira notes, which has triggered protests in different parts of the country.
The president who sympathized with Nigerians over the difficulties being experienced on account of the scarcity, said he has directed the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to collaborate with security agencies in fishing out the bad elements sabotaging the system, while ordering the recirculation of old N200 notes till April 10.
“I am not unaware of the obstacles placed on the path of innocent Nigerians by unscrupulous officials in the banking industry, entrusted with the process of implementation of the new monetary policy. I am deeply pained and sincerely sympathise with you all, over these unintended outcomes,” Buhari said.
“To stem this tide, I have directed the CBN to deploy all legitimate resources and legal means to ensure that our citizens are adequately educated on the policy; enjoy easy access to cash withdrawal through availability of appropriate amount of currency; and ability to make deposits.
“I have similarly directed that the CBN should intensify collaboration with anti-corruption agencies, so as to ensure that any institution or person(s) found to have impeded or sabotaged the implementation should be made to bear the full weight of the law.”
Buhari’s remarks comes as the CBN, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and the Independent Corrupt Practices Commission (ICPC) continue to bust commercial banks hoarding the new naira notes.
Earlier this month, two Sterling Bank managers in Abuja were apprehended by the ICPC.
A statement from the commission had disclosed that its operatives arrested the Regional and Service Managers of the financial institution last for hoarding N258 million in the bank’s vault.
“As part of ongoing efforts at ensuring that commercial banks comply with the CBN’s directive on the distribution of the redesigned Naira notes, operatives of the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) last Friday discovered the sum of N258 million stashed in the vault of Sterling Bank in Abuja.
“This discovery followed one of the commission’s operations at ensuring that commercial banks and other interest groups do not flout the apex bank’s directive.
“When the ICPC monitoring team visited the bank and discovered the stashed new Naira notes in the bank’s vault, it was informed that the cash was the remnant of what the CBN had given the bank for onward distribution to its branches.
“The team, however, found out that only the sum of N5 million each was distributed to their various branches.
“Both the Regional and Service Managers were arrested and later granted administrative bail while the investigation continues,” the statement issued by the spokesperson of the ICPC, Mrs Azuka Ogugua, had stated.
The EFCC had also arrested an Operations Manager of a leading commercial bank in Abuja for hoarding new naira notes.
The unnamed bank manager, whose branch is in the Central Area of Abuja, was arrested on Monday, February 6.
The EFCC had said the manager was arrested for refusing to load the bank’s Automated Teller Machines (ATMs) despite having N29 million of the redesigned naira notes in the branch’s vaults.