OBASEKI, CBN, AND POS OPERATORS PLAN ON NEW NAIRA DISTRIBUTION
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By Adeniyi Onaara
The governor of Edo State, Mr. Godwin Obaseki, met with members of the Association of Mobile Money and Bank Agents of Nigeria in the state on Thursday to discuss ways to distribute money in order to reduce tension and the difficulty Edo residents have obtaining the new naira notes.
The protest and ensuing violence in Benin on Wednesday, which resulted in the destruction of properties in the city, were regrettable, the governor said.
In Edo State, there are more money agents than bank branches, according to Obaseki, who urged AMMBAN members to work with the CBN and the government to resolve the issue.
He said, “The POS operators have a bad reputation, which must be corrected. If you have members charging customers above the normal price for their transactions, there should be an internal mechanism to deal with such issues. You must first regulate yourself and your association before you can help address this shortage of cash issue.”
In order to ease the stress caused by the state’s cash shortage, he further demanded that CBN officials provide cash to more PoS operators, noting that “since banks are closed and they are the only banks available for the time being, they go into the markets with the necessary security to address the cash shortage.”
Please increase the number of PoS operators by two so they can deal with the problem.
The arsonists, he claimed, were supported by self-centered politicians in order to spark a riot and foster discontent in the state, therefore the riot wasn’t an accident.
Obaseki expressed regret over the tragic event, saying, “The opposition party’s tactic during electioneering is to stir discontent and cause instability in the state. This happened during my own re-election campaign in 2020.
The Peoples Democratic Party is not the one that created the policy but our focus is on Edo people. The protest in the state yesterday was beyond anger and it was politically motivated.
“The security agencies are already making a lot of effort to apprehend individuals responsible for the destruction in several parts of Benin City. There is a ton of video, and the governor promised that those responsible will be detained and prosecuted.
The Federal Government’s cashless strategy, Obaseki said, is where Nigeria is headed. Support it and embrace it. The movement toward a cashless society has not been effectively supported. To ease the nation’s stress, we as leaders must assume accountability and put in significant effort.
In his response, the state’s AMMBAN chairman, Mr. Osaro Ekhator, thanked the governor for convening the meeting and assured him of the association’s members’ cooperation in finding a long-term solution to the current cash issue.
He stated, “We are affected, our livelihood has been affected, our shops were burnt during this period. Our members have been arrested severally due to transactions and businesses carried out but the state identity card your administration has embarked on for us will solve the problem as it will become easy for us to identify our customers through this process.
“The streetlight project you have embarked on in the state has prolonged our time of doing business and we are safe doing our businesses as we can see clearly all those transacting businesses with us.
“We also commend you for the internet connectivity you have brought to the state through the connection of fibre optic cables across the state. It will help our business because we depend on the internet for our transactions.”
The controller of the Benin branch of the CBN, Renner Jumbo assured that the bank would release more cash to PoS operators to ease the pain and tension of customers in Edo State, adding that the banks have refused to open following the destruction of their properties, adding, “The PoS operators are very important at this time.”
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