CBN, Bankers’ Committee suspend lay-offs in banks

The Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, and the Bankers’ Committee have directed that no banks in the country must retrench or lay off any staff, full-time or part-time.

A statement by Isaac Okorafor, Director, Corporate Communications, CBN, said the directive was “to help minimize and mitigate the negative impact of the COVID19 pandemic on families and livelihoods.”

Full text of the statement reads:

A special meeting of the Bankers’ Committee was convened on May 2, 2020, to
further review the implications of the COVID-19 pandemic on the Nigerian
banking industry. The Committee particularly deliberated on the issue of the
operating costs of banks in view of the disruptions emanating from the global
economic difficulties and decided as follows:
1. In order to help minimize and mitigate the negative impact of the COVID19 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).
2. 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.
Isaac Okorafor
Director, Corporate Communications