In Edo State, Governor Godwin Obaseki engaged with Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) officials and members of the Association of Mobile Money and Bank Agents of Nigeria (AMMBAN) to address the cash shortage and unrest.
The strategic meeting aimed to disburse cash effectively and mitigate the hardship faced by residents in accessing redesigned naira notes.
Speaking to the media following the meeting, the governor stated that the violent protests on Wednesday in Benin City, which resulted in the destruction of properties in the city, were orchestrated by self-serving politicians with the intention of causing unrest and discontent in the state.
“The opposition party’s practice during electioneering is to create disaffection and cause trouble in the state,” Obaseki said, expressing his displeasure over the tragic incident. “This occurred in the midst of my 2020 reelection campaign. The policy was not developed by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), but we are concentrating on the Edo people. Yesterday’s protest in the state was driven more by politics than by resentment.”
“The security services are already putting a lot of effort into apprehending those responsible for the damage in several parts of Benin City. Those who are involved will be arrested and prosecuted; there is a lot of footage,” the governor promised.
“The POS operators have a bad reputation, which must be corrected,” Obaseki said, pointing out that there are more money agents than bank branches in Edo State. He then urged the AMMBAN members to work with the government and CBN to address the situation. There need to be an internal process in place to handle situations where members are charging clients more than the going rate for their services. Before you can contribute to resolving this cash shortage issue, you must first control your association and yourself.”
He added, “We would like the CBN to immediately fund more POS operators as much as possible as they go into the markets with the necessary security to address the cash shortage since banks are not opened and they are the only banks available for now.” This will help ease the tension in the state over the lack of cash. Please, we want you to double the number of POS operators to enable them address the issue.”
In his reply, Mr. Osaro Ekhator, the chairman of AMMBAN in Edo State, thanked the governor for the meeting and assured him of the association’s members’ support in finding a long-term solution to the current cash crisis.
He said, “We are impacted, our way of life has been impacted, and our stores were burned during this time. The State identity card program your administration has implemented will solve the issue because it will make it simple for us to identify our customers. Our members have been arrested multiple times as a result of transactions and business dealings.
“We are able to conduct business for longer thanks to the state’s streetlight project, and we feel secure doing so because we can clearly see everyone who is doing business with us. We also thank you for connecting fiber optic cables all over the state to improve internet connectivity for the state. It will help our business because we depend on the internet for our transactions.”
Renner Jumbo, the Controller of the CBN’s Benin branch, gave an assurance that the bank would give POS operators more cash to relieve the stress and suffering of Edo State customers. He also mentioned that banks have refused to reopen after their properties were destroyed and that POS operators are crucial at this time.
