Workers lost more jobs under Sanusi than any other CBN governor – NUBIFIE
By Victor Ahiuma-Young
LAGOS — NATIONAL Union of Banks, Insurance and Financial Institutions Employees, NUBIFIE, weekend, said more Nigerians had lost their jobs in the banking sector under the current Governor of Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, Mallam Sanusi Lamido Sanusi, than any other CBN governor in the country.
This came even as the union lamented that Mallam Sanusi who has just spent over one year as governor had not only created loss of confidence in the Nigerian banking sector, but imposed management on some banks who the NUBIFIE claimed were doing worst things than the sacked management of some rescued banks.
General Secretary of the Union, Comrade Segun Ola, told Labour Correspondents that the body was strongly opposed to planned sale of the rescued banks by CBN and argued that the shareholders had shown interest and preparedness to recapitalise their banks.
He said: “I can tell you that Professor Charles Soludo created many jobs in the banking sector. But Mallam Sanusi through his policy has sacked more Nigerians from the banking sector. Many Nigerians have lost their jobs under him than any other governor. Besides that, he has created loss of confidence in the nation’s banks.
There is tension everywhere in the banks. We are not saying if there are problems that have to do with the running of the banks, they should not be addressed. There are many ways to handle the matter without creating problems for the sector.
The loss of confidence in the sector will take a long time to be regained. We are against any new investors in the five banks as planned by the CBN because the shareholders have shown interest and preparedness to get money to recapitalise the banks. Why should CBN be looking for foreign investors when there are local investors willing and capable to recapitalised these banks. Supposing there is a political problem in Aso Rock that demands urgent attention, is the Federal Government going to look for foreign politicians to solve the problems or to come and manage the problems for us? So, we still believe that the existing shareholders can still recapitalise the five distressed banks”.
“One of the reasons why we are saying that there is a secret behind the attempt by the apex bank to the plan sourcing for foreign investors to buy the five distressed banks or there are some group of persons that had vested interest in the banks as being argued by the public is because the option of the shareholders taking the bold step to recapitalise the banks have not been used. Our argument is based on the fact that the new management appointed by the apex bank to manage the affairs of one of the rescued banks (name withheld) is worse than the former management.
The bank is reducing workers’ salary without recourse to the union and after the union has kicked against it and the case was won, the management is now coming out with other anti-workers’ activities that are against the extant labour laws of the country.”
“We have asked severally is if the banks are said to be distress, why should the current overhead cost be higher than that of the former management? And we call on the CBN to ask independent body to look into the management processes on these banks.
We therefore called for the intervention of all stakeholders and Central Bank of Nigeria to partake in the administration of the financial institutions towards achieving policy goal that would be geared at meeting the economic aspiration of the larger segment of the population and eradication of poverty.
Our union is not comfortable with the transparency of the CBN in the recapitalisation of these five banks. And so, as a union, we say no to any foreign investors to these distress banks, and we want the apex bank to go to the stock exchange to recapitalise these banks if that is the last option deem possible”
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