Mohammed Shosanya
The Association of Senior Staff of Banks,Insurance and Financial Institutions,ASSBIFI,has implored the Nigeria Deposit Insurance Corporation to consider settlement and compensation for the workers of liquidated Heritage Bank Plc.
Its National President,Comrade Olusoji Oluwole,who said this in a statement on Wednesday,expressed concern about the fate of the association’s members who have invested multiple decades of their active lives in the service of the bank.
Their future ,he said,now hangs in the balance, as there is no mention of plans to settle the workers in the CBN and NDIC publications and liquidation process.
He said he’s genuinely disturbed, because Association of Senior Staff of Banks, Insurance and Financial Institutions National Secretariat vulnerable workers should not be unfairly treated, used and discarded without settlement of some sort.
He said:”Coming at a time when the economy is in serious crisis with hyperinflation and high unemployment rate leading to job cuts, it is most disheartening that vulnerable workers who faithfully and committedly put in their best for decades in the Bank would be abandoned to perish in penury.
“While the NDIC Act excludes staff related accounts from the insurance premium, we appeal that the predicament of members is considered when payments are made to other depositors based on the harsh economic realities”.
He implored the Central Bank of Nigeriaand other regulators in the banking industry to deeply investigate the transactions and activities that caused the collapse of Heritage Bank, and invoke appropriate actions to recover debts while applying sanctions and penalties against any Institutions or persons found guilty.
He stated that the recent Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) order revoking the Operational License and Liquidation of Heritage Bank Plc did not come to the Association of Senior Staff of Banks, Insurance and Financial Institutions (ASSBIFI) as a surprise.
According to him,the situation could have been avoided if the regulatory Authorities had heeded to the various clamor from staff, ASSBIFI and the public on the plight of Heritage Bank.
He said,no decisive action was seen to have been taken to stem the fate that eventually befell the institution on 3, June 2024.
“You will recall that sometime in June 2021, staff of the bank in Abuja gathered at the home of an alleged debtor, a prominent politician to recover unpaid debts to the bank.
He added:”In 2023, we called the attention of the public to the insensitive disengagement of over sixty-five (65) workers under the guise of reorganization, who had put in decades of service to the bank without commensurate compensation as stated in the Labor Act and ILO conventions.
“Rather than acting responsibly and doing the right thing through mediation with the Honorable Minister of Labour and Employment, the Management chose to hide behind the cover of the court of law. This has been their behaviour as reported in recent times through other court judgements against them.
“In March 2024, The National Union of Banks, Insurance and Financial Institutions Employees (NUBIFIE) also raised same alarm, yet no decisive actions were taken”.
