By Fidelis Soriwei and Ime Umoren

The Nigeria Labour Congress has blamed the Central Bank of Nigeria for the crisis currently rocking the nation’s financial sector.

The President, NLC, Mr. Abdulwahed Omar, said in a statement on Tuesday, that it was not possible for the CBN to be extricated from blame since it appointed the interim managements of the rescued banks.

Omar said that while the explanation of the apex bank for the nationalisation of Bank PHB Plc, Afribank Plc and Spring Bank Plc appeared plausible, it was a thing of concern that the efforts of the government to rescue the affected banks through the injection of funds for their sustenance could come to such a painful end.

He said that there was no guarantee that the “bridge bank” arrangement made by the CBN, Nigerian Deposit Insurance Corporation and Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria would be different.

The labour leader also accused the apex bank of failing in its responsibility to rescue the banks from their poor state, which culminated in what he described as the hasty merger arrangement.

He called on the CBN to build confidence in the affected banks by creating conducive atmosphere for stakeholders, to ensure withdrawal of money by depositors without problems and to also assure Nigerians that the banks would not collapse.

The statement quoted Omar as saying, “We are of the view that the CBN cannot altogether escape blame in the prevailing crisis. It will be recalled that the CBN appointed the interim managements of the banks, which failed to perform optimally despite a generous bail-out with taxpayers’ funds two years ago.”

Source: Punch