A new dimension has been added to moves to reposition some of the bailed-out banks as workers of Union Bank of Nigeria Plc have urged their management not to consider selling the bank as a revival option.
The about 6,000 workers made this submission through a three page communiqué which was sent to the management of the bank and the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN)’s last week. The workers indicated that they “strongly oppose any proposal to sell the bank, rather the existing shareholders should be allowed to recapitalize the bank.”
BusinessWorld Intelligence can reveal that the workers, who have been expecting reactions on their new position, were asked to be patient as Mrs. Funke Osibodu, managing director, proceeded on a week leave immediately after the submission. The Union Bank Association of Senior Staff (UBASS), a unit Association of Senior Staff of Banks, Insurance and Financial Institutions (ASSBIFI), our sources said, made the pronouncements after its Central Working Committee and National Executive Council (NEC) meeting held in Asaba last week.
The association is believed to have made the suggestions based on its position as “the majority shareholders of Union Bank of Nigeria Plc through holding collectively warehoused shares under the Union Bank Staff Ownership Trust Fund (UBESOT) and Williams Street Trustee.”
They claimed that, “By virtue of our position as the majority shareholders, we are aware that the value of the bank’s assets in our books does not reflect the current position which by today’s estimation is in trillions of naira. We feel that these assets should be re-valued to reflect the current market value by real estate valuators and part should be converted to liquidity assets to enhance the bank’s liquidity position thereafter”.
Our investigations reveal that the following resolutions are part of the communiqué that was handed to the management and relevant regulatory institutions:
•workers are not averse to provisioning for non-performing credits but management must avoid over-provisioning which can paint ugly picture of the bank
•Workers strongly oppose any proposal to sell the bank, rather the existing shareholders should be allowed to recapitalize the bank at the earliest time
•Urge management to focus attention on fund mobilization and give hope to the customers
•That all actions that relate to the rights and privileges of staff must be in line with the collective agreement with the unions.
•Workers have reviewed the various cost-saving measures and advised that it should not hinder service delivery.

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