The scarcity of the new and old naira notes has worsened in Awka, the Anambra capital, as the country approaches the February 10 deadline for the complete phasing out of the current N200, N500 and N1,000 banknotes.

In Awka, Nigerians find it difficult to access cash despite the extension of the swap window, forcing many residents to electronic money transfer with its attendant transaction cost and inconveniences.

CBN governor, Godwin Emefiele, had assured the release of sufficient new banknotes with teams of enforcers to ensure that banks release them into circulation.

A visit to some bank branches in Awka showed numerous customers struggling anxiously to make withdrawals. Though the banks easily accepted the old currency bills from depositors, most customers were directed to congested ATMs for withdrawal.

In a particular bank, at least 125 customers were waiting to withdraw the maximum of N20,000 as of 10:00 a.m.

Gregory Okoli, a businessman, said he had been visiting the bank to get cash for two days without success. Mr Okoli said his sales had dropped because most of his customers could not get cash, and some were not used to making transfers.

He said the prices of goods and services have increased because of the high cost of Point of Sale (PoS) transactions and transfers.

Another customer, Chidi Umennaka, said the increased number of customers at the banks was because PoS operators were no longer disbursing cash, and the few with cash were charging exorbitant amounts for transactions.

Mr Umennaka said Awka is going virtually cashless when the demand for cash is compared to what is available. He said businesses, especially small ones, suffered as there were no means of paying for household commodities and big transactions.

Efforts to know why there was insufficient cash in circulation proved abortive as no commercial bank agreed to speak.

Also, efforts to know how the CBN is implementing the enforcement of disbursement were unsuccessful as the operations controller of the Awka branch declined to comment, saying he needed clearance from the CBN headquarters.

(NAN)