The aggrieved staff of former Heritage Bank staged a peaceful demonstration today, Thursday, July 18, 2024, in front of the National Assembly and Central Bank of Nigeria protesting non-payment of their salaries, allowances, fixed deposits, and savings
Stories by Salim Muhammed and Ibrahim Isah, in Abuja.
Abuja, the seat of government witnessed an unusual scene today with the peaceful demonstration of former employees of the scrapped Heritage Bank of Nigeria, protesting non-payment of their due benefits. The peaceful protest began at 8 am from Eagle Square. It moved to the National Assembly premises and to the Central Bank of Nigeria, where security officials tried to prevent them from gaining entry. “I was very much surprised to notice the column of people marching peacefully along the road and I knew something was not right”, said One Idris Musa, a taxi driver. On learning what happened, Idris was so incensed lashing out at the Nigerian Deposit Insurance Cooperation officials. “Should it come to this? I thought they promised that they would pay as soon as possible; what then is dragging the matter”, Idris hissed denouncing the insensitivity in governance.
On his part, a motorist who watched the scene flatly condemned NDIC officials for being so callous and the lukewarm attitude shown against the plight of the affected. “Governance is no rocket science; it is the insincerity that has crept into governance and the ineptitude that has caused this”, the motorist who goes by the name Abdullahi blurted out. Hear him “I am from Gombe and self-employed; only in Nigeria do you have such impunity in governance where people think they can do anything and get away with it; I heard it and read it that NDDIC says they will pay soonest; must they wait for protest to occur before they will do anything? Abdullahi went on to call out the Managing Director Bello Hassan for being so impassive and short of idea to run his office “President Tinubu must show him the door if he cannot perform”, he charged. Nevertheless, the aggrieved staff were particularly concerned about their life savings and funds meant for other friends, relations, and associates.
“We were not warned at all; NDIC officials just came into the bank that morning June 3, and said the Bank was shut down; no opportunity was given to us to withdraw anything”, said one of the staff members. What is playing out is the usual Nigerian mentality where you are left to rue your fate. NDIC has performed woefully in their commitment to depositors, treating them as if they are lepers; telephone calls directed at customer care return unanswered, while top officials keep mum when engaged; the security men stationed at the gates block the entrance thus worsening depositors’ plight; “It is as if this is a well-written script playing out”, said a lawyer who happened at the scene in NDIC office Utako. “I came here this morning to submit my alternate account form; you can see the forms are still with me; no one has come out to receive it”, he told our reporters. The practice in civilized clime is to warn members of the public about an impending action such as the closure of a bank to give allowance for remedies.
But as in the case of Heritage Bank, the government simply announced the closure without warning throwing depositors into a panic. Now, they have failed to apply the same swiftness in disbursement of trapped funds allowing the whole process to be choked! Looking at a pamphlet displayed by NDIC which says depositor’s funds are insured up to 5 million, a passersby sneered saying these are some of the tricks of those in government. “You said there is insurance coverage; why not pay without causing discomfort to the owners of the money”, the passersby queried. Indeed, NDIC officials have not shown responsibility in this regard; a reformed organization ought to have officials run out daily to give situation reports and assuage the depositors; but now, as it seems, that commitment is far from coming.
How many more peaceful protests are Nigerians going to witness before reprieve comes? The expectation is for them to roll out a timetable for payments and reconfirmation of those paid.” The way they are running the show is not convincing; they should come out and produce results; we are hungry and we have commitments school fees, hospital bills, and so on; surely there must still be someone reasonable in government”, disclosed the leader of the former bank employees
