ASSIBIFI throws weight behind stoppage of forex to Bureau de Change Operators.

Association of Senior Staff of Banks Insurance and Financial Institutions president, Comrade Oyinkansola Olasanoye said the decision of the Central Bank of Nigeria, to stop sales of forex to Bureau de Change Operators is a welcome decision that would have positive effects on the value of naira and help in addressing frequent fluctuation.

Comrade Olasanoye said this in her office, in Ikeja at an interactive session with members of the Labour Writers Association of Nigeria (LAWAN).

She said the Central Bank of Nigeria should have the political will to monitor, and implement the policy, if it is to succeed.

Comrade Olasanoye said the Central Bank of Nigeria should do everything possible to see that it does not lead to scarcity of forex as some people will not want it to work.

Central Bank Governor Godwin Emefiele announced recently at the end of a monetary policy committee in Abuja that the Bureau de Change Operators have become conduit for illegal financial flows working with corrupt people to conduct illicit flows and money laundering in Nigeria.

Central Bank Governor Emefiele.

Meanwhile, Nigerians have been called to be extra careful and dilligent in their financial dealings as fraudsters and scammers have devised many ways to defraud people of their money.

ASSIBIFI president, Comrade Olasanoye, said due to advanced digital system, many people aside from Banks staff could defraud people of their money.

Speaking on Banks preference for contract staff, she said as much as eighty percent of workers in the banks are on contract employed by third party and not the banks.

She said the contract staff are being exploited by the banks, as they have lower salary, benefits and compensation than the permanent staff, as the diginity of labour is nothing to write about.

Comrade Olasanoye said it is not unsual to see some of the contract staff who have been in the banking sector for ten years but who are still casuals as their contact after two years are not renewed .

She however said this will soon be over, as ASSIBIFI has submitted a proposal and recommendations to the federal ministry of labour to address all the anomalities, which will soon be resolved.

Comrade Olasanoye frowned at those involved in fraud as she said the association will never support them. She advised those who have flair for crime in the banking system to stop in their own interest.

Speaking on the Covid as it affects the banking sector, she said about fifteen staff lost their lives and 7,800 who also contacted the disease have recovered.

She said though there was an agreement with the employers that no staff must be retrenched as the result of the Covid, some of the employees were sacked by their employers hiding under the ‘garment’ of low productivity.

Comrade Olasanoye pledged that the association would continue to work for the welfare and interest of members and the growth of the financial sector.

Afolabi Oyekunle.