Cash-strapped Nigerians besiege banks

Relief came the way of cash-strapped Nigerians on Tuesday as banks opened their doors for business. This followed the suspension of the strike embarked upon by organised labour since Monday last week over the removal of fuel subsidy by the Federal Government.There was an unprecedented long queue of customers in most of the banks visited by the Nigerian Tribune while security personnel had a hectic time controlling them.At FirstBank, Motorways branch, the customers inside the banking hall and automated teller machine (ATM) point were almost the same. But the regular loading of the ATMs with cash led to the quick reduction of the queues at the ATM point. This was the scenario in other banks on Lagos Island and Mainland. In Ikorodu, a suburb of Lagos, customers besieged the banks as early as 7.00a.m., apparently to await the loading of the ATMs. Fidelity Bank, which opened a branch in the locality recently, was not exempted from the influx of customers.The flexibility of the usage of ATM card helped to quickly reduce the crowd as the customers rushed to other nearby banks where ATMs were dispensing cash.In one of the banks visited, security men were seen assisting some customers who are not familiar with the operations of ATM as most banks had made it compulsory for customers withdrawing less than N60, 000 to use the ATM outlet.Some of the customers who spoke with the Nigerian Tribune said the suspension of the strike and mass protests was a great relief as they could not access their money to meet certain obligations while it lasted.According to Sylvester Imonitie, a customer of Access Bank, he came to withdraw cash to enable him pay his children's school fees and buy foodstuff, stressing that though he supported the strike, he went borrowing during the period of the strike.
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