The statement credited to the Minister of Labour and Employment, Dr Chris Ngige that banks which defy his directive to stop sacking their employees will have their licences revoked is highly tendentious. It is even more perturbing that he issued this directive at the 105th session of the International Labour Congress (ILC) in Geneva, Switzerland, with the whole world listening in.

He was quoted as saying: “the Federal Government gave the licences to the banks to operate and if its directives are not adhered to the licences will be withdrawn if the need arises”.
The Minister must be told in unequivocal terms that he has no power to give such a directive. Banks are private sector entities. They are not established or funded by government. They are licenced under the law and their shareholders come from Nigeria and beyond. There is no legislation in the country that empowers the Minister to issue directives to private sector operators on how they should conduct their affairs.
Besides, the Labour Minister did not issue their licences in the first instance. It is the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), an independent regulator that has the power to grant bank lincences and withdraw them, within the rule of law. Loose statements like these are capable of scaring investors from Nigeria as many are led to believe that there is no sanctity of contracts and property rights in Nigeria.
Due to a dire infrastructure deficit, the cost of doing business in Nigeria is one of the highest in the world, and private companies (banks inclusive) are forced to provide for themselves amenities like power, security and other services that are usually provided by government. Banks currently spend N60 out of every N100 they make to provide themselves services that government ought to provide.
It is obvious that the retrenchment gales in the banks owe to the FG’s policies, particularly the withdrawal of Federal Government’s accounts due to the Treasury Single Account (TSA) without any palliative to cushion its effects. We expect the Federal Government to assist the banks to absorb the shock through policy measures to avoid systemic distress.

We also expect the FG to apply appropriate macroeconomic measures as a means of protecting existing jobs while efforts are made to create new job opportunities.
We completely agree with The Nigeria Employers Consultative Association (NECA). Unilateral actions by government, employers of Labour and Labour unions must be discouraged.
All actions to tackle our economic challenges must be subjected to due diligence, due process, equity and the rule of law. Regulatory bodies should be vigilant to prevent acts of impunity, including unfair Labour practices in the banking and other sectors.  Minister Ngige’s utterances were undemocratic and unnecessary, and should be discontinued.