The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has directed all commercial banks to open for operation on Saturdays and Sundays as the apex bank evacuates banknotes from its vaults to commercial banks across the country as part of a coordinated effort to ease the circulation of banknotes of various denominations.

Acting director of the corporate communications department of the CBN, Dr. Isa AbdulMumin, publicized this in Abuja, on Friday in a statement. Dr. AbdulMumin stated that a substantial amount of money, in various denominations, had been received by the commercial banks for onward circulation to their respective customers. According to him, 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.

“Branches of commercial banks will operate on Saturdays and Sundays to attend to customers’ cash needs,” he noted, adding that the governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Mr. Godwin Emefiele, would personally lead teams to monitor the level of compliance by the banks in various locations across the country. He, therefore, urged Nigerians to be patient as the current situation would ease soon with the injection of more banknotes into circulation.

Ada Peter