CBN directs Access bank, others to halt staff lay off

By our reporter| The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and the bankers’ committee on Sunday agreed to suspend lay-offs in banks across the federation.

This agreement was reached at a special meeting of the Bankers’ Committee which was convened on Saturday May 2, to further review the implications of the COVID-19 pandemic on the Nigerian banking industry.

The apex banks’s decision was contained in a statement signed by Isaac Okorafor, CBN director of corporate communications, on Sunday.

According to the statement, it was also agreed that banks would need the express approval of the CBN to lay off any staff.

The statement read, “The committee particularly deliberated on the issue of the operating costs of banks in view of the disruptions emanating from the global economic difficulties.”

“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).

“To give effect to the above measure, 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.”

Access bank’s managing director, Hebert Wigwe in a vidoe that went viral over the weekend communicted to staff the decision of the bank to lay off some workers and cut the salary of others.