NDIC links frauds in Nigerian banks to staff casualisation   

Umaru Ibrahim, managing director, Nigeria Deposit Insurance Corporation (NDIC), says there is a nexus between staff casualisation and frauds in the Nigerian banking sector, just as he disclosed that over 25 percent of bank workers in Nigeria are engaged on casual basis.

Staff casualisation is a trend where workers are engaged on insecure terms. These take many forms and often mean that the workers have fewer rights at work than their permanent, salaried colleagues. The implication is that they are generally dissatisfied and vulnerable.

According to Ibrahim, who spoke when a delegation from the Chartered Institute of Bankers of Nigeria (CIBN) led by Segun Ajibola, the council chairman, visited him in Abuja, casual workers constitute about 25 percent of the banking workforce and this is having negative impacts on the industry.

He noted with concern the practice of some banks that assigned sensitive roles to casual workers thereby exposing the banking industry to frauds and forgeries.

The NDIC boss also expressed concern about the increasing wave of non-performing insider loans in banks, saying, the development had potential consequences for the stability of the nation’s banking system.

This has resulted in credibility issue within the banks industry and capable of eroding public confidence in the sector, he said, and therefore advocated for strict compliance with extant code of conduct and the need to review some of the laws to allow stiffer penalties to be meted to directors who took advantage of their positions and failed to repay loans.

He however promised that the corporation would continue to partner the CIBN and other professional bodies on capacity building among workers.

The CIBN chair, Ajibola stated the need for strong collaboration between the two organisations in the area of training and other issues of mutual interest.

On staff casualisation in banks, Ajibola said the issue would be discussed at CIBN’s next meeting with banks’ chief executives with a view to addressing the issues. He, however, disclosed that efforts were being made by the CIBN to enhance the capacity of bank workers, particularly in credit administration.