News
Naira crisis: Queues gradually disappear as bank ATMs dispense cash
Long queues at commercial banks in Lagos have suddenly disappeared following the injection of more bank notes by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) into commercial banks, the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) report’s.
The apex bank had on Thursday confirmed the evacuation of bank notes from its vaults to commercial banks across the country as part of a coordinated effort to ease the circulation of the banknotes of various denominations.
The bank also directed all commercial banks to open for operations on Saturdays and Sundays.
The apex bank said that a substantial amount of money, in various denominations, had been received by the commercial banks for onward circulation to their respective customers.
The CBN had directed all banks to load their Automated Teller Machines (ATMs) as well as conduct physical operations in the banking halls through the weekends.
Meanwhile, a correspondent of NAN who monitored some of the banks in the metropolis to check compliance, reported that the long queues drastically reduced, not all bank ATMs dispensed and banks only paid customers who are account holders in their banks.
The banks visited along Ajao Estate Road in Oshodi –Isolo and Alimosho local government areas are Guarantee TrustHolding Company (GTCO), Keystone Bank, First City Monument Bank, Zenith Bank, Firstbank, United Bank for Africa, Globus bank, Polaris Bank and Union Bank.
NAN also reports that banks who paid their customers had limits to what they pay, which ranges from N5,000, N10,000 and N20,000.
Some banks paid N10,000 to their customers, N5,000 to non-customers and others only to bank customers.
An official at one of the banks which pays N20,000 to its customers, told NAN that for a customer to be paid the amount, the person must put his or her BVN down with a thumb print to ensure that they do not withdraw above the specified limit.
Mr Ayotunde Dayo, a transporter, who expressed joy that the long queues were gone, urged the apex bank to adequately supply banks with enough cash that could go round for everyone to access.
“This rationing of cash that banks are doing is not the best, when I heard that CBN had asked banks to begin to pay customers cash even on weekends, I was happy because the suffering of the people would reduce.
“But from the look of things, the sufferings will still continue because many banks only pay to their customers, if you are a non-customer, nothing for you.
“I use GTB but because I heard Zenith was paying I had to stop over to withdraw, but on getting here, I am told that I have no business being here because they only pay to their customers and it’s N5,000. This is not good,’’ he said.
Mrs Paulina Ikechukwu, a Secondary School Teacher, urged the apex bank to ensure enough cash was moved to commercial banks and accessible by everyone.
“The banks need to be faster because the masses are dying of hunger since the naira redesign came on board.
“The CBN should monitor the banks and ensure they comply; the typical Nigerian banks that I know would start well now and do something else in the coming days,’’ she said.
Mrs Balogun Shokunbi, a petty trader in Ajao Estate Market, however, blamed the scarcity of cash on Point of Sale (POS) operators, saying they connived with bank officials and security men to empty cash from Automated Teller Machines (ATMs).
She urged the apex bank to monitor them and ensure they did not go to the banks in the night to empty the cash in the ATMs.
“I sell in the market and I have friends who render POS services and they have told me how they get the money they use for their business.
“ One of them was even boasting of the money that she has made since the redesigned notes policy came up. I pray CBN will continue to pump in money to the banks so that we can all go back to our normal lives,’’ she said.
Credit: NAN
The African Democratic Congress, ADC, has announced Senator Ireti Heebah Kingibe as the party’s flag bearer for the Federal Capital Territory senatorial election ahead of the 2027 general polls.
Kingibe secured a landslide victory in the party’s primary election, polling 17,535 votes to defeat her sole challenger, Mubarak Tijjani, who garnered 806 votes.
Declaring the results at the ADC secretariat in Abuja, the chairman and returning officer for the senatorial and House of Representatives primaries, Abubakar Adamu, confirmed Kingibe as the winner of the exercise.
The primary election also produced candidates for the two House of Representatives seats in the FCT.
In the AMAC/Bwari Federal Constituency, Bala Iyah emerged victorious with 4,937 votes, defeating Yahaya Fatima Goya, who polled 2,015 votes, while Ma’aji Johnson Bello secured 1,546 votes. Ismaila Ishak Ozigi received 105 votes.
For the Abaji/Gwagwalada/Kwali/Kuje Federal Constituency, Alhassan Salihu clinched the party’s ticket with 9,016 votes, defeating Khalid A. Haruna, who polled 2,955 votes.
Officials of the Independent National Electoral Commission monitored the conduct of the primaries.
Governor Umar Namadi of Jigawa State has expressed confidence that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu will secure victory in the 2027 presidential election, stating that no opposition candidate, including former President Goodluck Jonathan, can prevent the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) from retaining power.
Namadi made the remarks after casting his vote during the APC presidential primary election held at his polling unit in Kafin Hausa Local Government Area of Jigawa State.
The governor reiterated his commitment to delivering more than one million votes for President Bola Ahmed Tinubu in the next general election, saying the target was realistic given the widespread support the APC enjoys across Jigawa State.
He noted that the large turnout witnessed during the primary election demonstrated the confidence party members and residents have in both President Tinubu and the APC-led administration.
According to Namadi, the peaceful and transparent conduct of the exercise also reflected the President’s respect for democratic values and internal party democracy.
The governor further stated that the outcome of the APC primary election signalled what to expect in the 2027 polls, predicting an overwhelming victory for the ruling party nationwide.
Namadi described Jigawa as one of the APC’s strongest support bases, pointing out that the state ranks among those with the highest number of registered voters in the country.
The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency has arrested a 63-year-old Chinese woman for allegedly attempting to smuggle a large consignment of Canadian Loud, a synthetic strain of cannabis, into Nigeria.
The suspect, described as Ting Hung Kiong who naturalised in Malaysia, was arrested on Sunday, May 17, 2026, upon arrival at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos, from Thailand via Dubai on an Emirates Airline flight.
This was contained in a statement made available to the column.ng on (today) Sunday by NDLEA spokesperson, Femi Babafemi.
According to the agency, NDLEA operatives attached to the Terminal 2 Arrival Hall intercepted her after she was found to have two large travel boxes containing 31.0 kilograms of the illicit substance.
“During an interview, the 63-year-old suspect who claims she works as a caregiver in Malaysia stated that her daughter sponsored her trip from Malaysia to Thailand and subsequently to Nigeria.
“She further disclosed that she spent two weeks in Thailand, before she was handed the illicit consignment at the Thailand airport to deliver in Nigeria,” the statement read.
Meanwhile, the NDLEA also announced the interception of another major drug shipment at the Lagos airport import shed.
“Following close monitoring of the consignment by NDLEA operatives since its arrival from India aboard an Emirates Cargo flight, the 29 large cartons containing One Million, Eight Hundred and Twenty-Five Thousand, Seven Hundred and Ten (1,825,710) tablets of Tapentadol 250mg, worth Two Billion, One Hundred and Ninety Million, Eight Hundred and Fifty-Two Thousand Naira (N2,190,852,000) were eventually handed over to the NDLEA by the Customs Service on Friday 22nd May 2026,” it said.
In another operation at the Akanu Ibiam International Airport, Enugu, NDLEA operatives on May 20 arrested a suspect, Onyeka Valentine Emeka, during inward clearance of passengers on an Ethiopian Airlines flight from Sierra Leone via Addis Ababa.
The suspect, according to the agency, excreted 185.36 grams of cocaine while under observation.
Babafemi added that “at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja, a 29-year-old building engineer, Babatunde Prosper Afekhide was on Wednesday 21st May arrested by NDLEA operatives while attempting to board an Ethiopian Airlines flight from Abuja via Addis Ababa to Milan Malpensa, Italy.
“A search conducted on his luggage led to the recovery of 10,280 pills of Tramaking 225mg; Tramadol 200mg and Tapentadol 250mg. The opioids were concealed using foil paper and hidden inside a carton, in a suitcase, obviously to evade detection.
“In yet another operation at a courier company in Lagos, NDLEA operatives intercepted 1,174 pills of MDMA (Ecstasy) concealed in bicycle luggage carrier heading to Netherlands; 66 pills of tramadol 225mg hidden in soap container going to the United States and 18 tablets of tramadol 225mg concealed in body cream container heading to the United Kingdom,” the agency said.
In Edo State, operatives acting on intelligence raided Igwe community in Owan East Local Government Area, where 59 jumbo bags of skunk weighing 489kg and 9kg of cannabis seeds were recovered.
The agency also said a 30-year-old suspect, Isah Sani, was arrested with 196,000 pills of Exol-5 along the Zaria–Kano road in Kano State on May 20, while operatives at the Seme border in Badagry, Lagos, recovered 59kg of skunk from a warehouse in Mowo on May 19.
In Ekiti State, NDLEA operatives on May 23 raided a warehouse in Ikole-Ekiti and recovered 1,116 kilograms of skunk, arresting a 54-year-old suspect, Ogundana Adebayo Julius, in connection with the seizure.
The agency also disclosed continued nationwide War Against Drug Abuse (WADA) sensitisation activities in schools, worship centres and communities across several states.
Chairman/Chief Executive Officer of NDLEA, Brig. Gen. Buba Marwa (Rtd), commended officers involved in the operations and charged them to sustain the agency’s drug supply reduction and sensitisation efforts.
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