- Nigerian legislators have rejected a motion seeking to probe the mass sack of commercial banks employees saying it was not in their jurisdiction.
Earlier this month, the Central Bank of Nigeria also distanced itself from media reports alleging that it has directed commercial banks to throw out employees and rationalise branches countrywide.
The Motion sponsored by Kayode Idowu, the Member of Parliament for Osun, seeks to reverse the rampant sacking of employees.
Mr Idowu said the mass lay-off of employees in the sector began when the new management appointed by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to manage the affairs of some banks in August last year. More than 10, 000 employees have been sacked so far, according to reports.
He said the investigation across the concerned banks revealed that the criteria adopted in laying off the affected staff could not be determined as the exercise cut across different cadres of the banks’ workforce.
However, the CBN has defended itself, saying it expects all banks to follow due process in honouring all terms of appointment of their employees and any collective agreements signed with Workers’ Unions.
According to the lawmaker, the current situation in the banking sector was neither in the interest of the sacked employees nor in conformity with the Seven-Point Agenda of the Federal Government which has job creation as one of its key programmes.
He expressed dismay that the CBN which has supervisory roles over the banks and ought to have intervened, had refused to do so because of the claim that banks are private enterprises which take independent decisions on issues of engagement and disengagement of employees based on business imperatives.
The lawmaker pleaded with the House to investigate the mass lay-off in the sector and recommend appropriate policies or mechanism by which the government can address the situation and report back to the House within three weeks.
He also asked that the federal government should create an enabling environment that will encourage better performance in the banking sector.
Earlier this month, media reports have suggested that CBN had encouraged local commercial banks to lay-off employees in minimising costs.
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