Automated Teller Machines, cash dispensing points and bank halls witnessed long queues in Jos, the Plateau capital, Nigeria as business activities resumed while workers returned to work after the Eid-el Fitr holiday.
Correspondents of the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), who went round the city, observed that some ATM points were not dispensing, putting pressure on the few that were doing so.
At the Ahmadu Bello Way in Teminus area, anxious customers were seen waiting for their turns to make withdrawals, with some of the customers telling NAN that they had just returned from their villages and needed “a little cash”.
“I am just returning from Langtang and want to get some money before going to the hostel,” Martins Agai, a student of the University of Jos, told NAN.
A housewife, Larai Mashat, who sells hand bags, told that NAN she closed her shop since Friday and traveled to Bokkos for the break.
“I have just returned and want some money to meet immediate domestic needs,” she said.
The story was the same at the banking halls with many people depositing proceeds from sales made during the break.
A middle-aged woman, who refused to disclose her name, said she was in the bank to deposit monies collected during Church service on Sunday.
At the Secretariat branch of First Bank, NAN met a long queue of customers undergoing the usual screening process before being allowed in, with the situation even rowdier inside the hall as customers struggled through bodies to undertake one transaction or the other.
A visit to some offices, especially at the State and Federal secretariats, showed that people had returned to work after the weekend that dovetailed into the two-day holiday on Monday and Tuesday.
NAN noticed heavy vehicular and human traffic at both secretariats as the refreshed workers resumed normal activities after the break.
Mr Pam Dung, a civil servant, who works with one of the state ministries, told NAN that he was happy to be back to work after the break.
“I am happy to be back after the break; I am fully refreshed, both mentally and physically, and ready to give my very best,” he said.
Mrs. Sarah Aji, another civil servant, said that she used the break to reflect on her life and the future of her children.
“Now that I am back, I am very determined to put in my best toward a better Plateau and Nigeria,” she said.
At the Federal secretariat, the scenario was the same as workers were seen at their duty posts, while eateries closed during the break, roared back to life.
