The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and the Bankers’ Committee, Saturday, directed banks in Nigeria to suspend lay-off of staff due to the impact of Covid-19 pandemic on their operations.
In a special meeting of the Bankers’ Committee convened on May 2, 2020, to further review the implications of the COVID-19 pandemic on the Nigerian banking industry, the committee stated that banks must get the approval of the Apex Bank before it carries out any downsizing.
The Managing Director of Acess Bank, Herbert Wigwe, had on Saturday caused public outcry when in a virtual meeting informed staff that the bank would lay-off about 75 per cent of staff following the impact of the pandemic on bank operations.
In a statement on Sunday in Abuja, Director, Corporate Communications, Isaac Okorafor, said the committee particularly deliberated on the issue of the operating costs of banks in view of the disruptions emanating from the global economic difficulties.
According to Okoroafor, “In order to help minimize and mitigate the negative impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on families and livelihoods, no bank in Nigeria shall retrench or lay-off any staff of any cadre (including full-time and part-time).
The apex bank insisted that banks must get “the express approval of the Central Bank of Nigeria shall be required in the event that it becomes absolutely necessary to lay-off any such staff.
“The Central Bank of Nigeria solicits the support of all in our collective effort to weather through the economic challenges occasioned by the COVID-19 pandemic,” the statement added.
