Cash swap: Banks, taxis shut down in Ogun

Commercial banks in Abeokuta, the Ogun State capital, remained shut on Wednesday while their Automated Teller Machines(ATMs) also did not dispense cash.

Checks by The Nation showed the commercial banks on Lalubu street, Okelewo, the business district of Abeokuta did not open for business on Wednesday except for Zenith bank, which rendered skeletal service to few customers but closed by 12 noon.

Many taxi operators in the capital city have also withdrawn their cabs from the roads following confusion over deadline for collection of old N200, N500 and N1000 notes.

The scanty ones working refused the old notes from passengers, leaving many commuters stranded.

A taxi driver Babayemi, told The Nation that many of his colleagues have not been able to deposit their old notes, saying the conditions for depositing the money with the Central Bank of Nigeria(CBN) are complex and cumbersome given their literacy level.

Narrating his personal experience, Babayemi claimed he took N7,800 he made from transport business in the last few days to the CBN branch in Abeokuta on Tuesday but he was asked to visit the Apex bank’s portal to fill some information and generate a file.

The taxi car operator said he walked away and returned home with the old notes since he was not literate enough to undergo such process.

“If I could not change the old notes and I can’t spend it, why should I go out to work today and collect same old notes from passengers? That is why you see few taxi cars on the roads. I don’t accept old notes any more from passengers. I also accept bank transfers,” he said.
(The Nation)