By UDEME CLEMENT

National Union of Banks, Insurance and other Financial Institutions Employees, NUBIFIE, has called on the governor of Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, Malam Lamido Sanusi, to initiate monetary polices that would create jobs in the banking industry, rather than reforms capable of increasing unemployment in the economy.

The union said this in a statement after an emergency national executive meeting in Lokoja, Kogi State.

In the statement, NUBIFIE urged CBN to recapitalise Bank of Agriculture to enable it operate with a wide network and capacity to reach every part of the country.

It said: ‘’Once this was done, it means about 60 per cent of problems associated with poverty in the country would be solved. Recapitalisation of this bank would allow farmers easy access to credit facilities to operate on larger scales than what they are doing at present. “As such, they would expand their capacity to create more jobs to solve unemployment in the country.”

NUBIFIE called on top managers of the three nationalised banks- Spring Bank (now Enterprise Bank), Bank PHB (Keystone Bank), and Afribank (MainStreet Bank), to carry union members along on issues affecting them and stop anti-labour practices.

“The meeting was necessary for the union to brainstorm on topical challenges threatening the unity and existence of the union.

‘’There is need for change in attitude of management of the nationalised banks towards the security of job of our members and prevailing uncertainty. We, therefore, call on the management to henceforth not only recognise the union, but carry along all leaders on issues affecting the members. There must be workplace democracy in the system”, it said.