ABUJA – Bank customers in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) on Friday in Abuja expressed displeasure over early closure of transactions by commercial banks.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that most banks in the city centre announced closure of transactions between 1 p.m. and 3 p.m. on Friday.
The banks included First Bank of Nigeria (FBN) Plc., Zenith Bank, Guarantee Trust Bank (GTB), Diamond Bank, Stanbic IBTC and Mainstream Bank.
At the FBN, a customer, Miss Ajuma Amed who spoke to NAN, said she arrived at the bank at about 1.28 p.m. and was disappointed to discover that it had already closed.
Amed said she did not know the banks would shut down before 4 p.m. as there were no elections happening in the FCT tomorrow.
Another customer, Mrs Kate Aire, said she tried withdrawing from the First Bank ATM, only to be debited without being given cash while she could not enter the bank to complain.
Also at the Diamond Bank, a customer, Mr Tobias Okwu, said he had received an alert of the bank’s closure at 1 p.m.
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Okwu said he left all the important things he was doing to head for the bank before 1 p.m. because he needed to do some transactions.
At the Diamond and Zenith banks, some officials who preferred anonymity, said their banks closed before the usual time.
However, an official at the GTB who also spoke on anonymity, said banks in the FCT had decided to close because others in the states were also closing.
He noted that if the banks remained opened in the FCT, customers, whose accounts were domiciled in the states, might not be able to do their transactions adequately.
NAN observed that not many customers were at the various banks at about 1 p.m. and that most of the ATMs were functioning and dispensing cash. (NAN)
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