By Modupe Gbadeyanka
Ecobank Nigeria Limited has been commended by the National Union of Banks, Insurance and Financial Institutions Employees (NUBIFIE), the umbrella body of junior workers in the financial services industry.
Speaking during a courtesy visit to Ecobank Pan African Centre (EPAC) in Lagos on Wednesday, NUBIFIE’s National President, Mr Anthony Abakpa, praised the lender for its labour friendly policies that have enhanced the welfare of its members who are staff of the bank.
He said Ecobank is responsive to its workers’ welfare and has set the standard in maintaining a high-level industrial relationship with the union.
Mr Abakpa reiterated that Ecobank’s management has shown approachable leadership in its dealings with the union, requesting that the positive relationship be sustained for the interest of the workers and the growth of the financial institution, also referred to as the Pan African bank.
Also speaking, General Secretary of NUBIFIE, Muhammed Sheikh, explained that the visit was to thank the outgoing Managing Director of the bank, Mr Patrick Akinwuntan for the warm relationship and open access granted to them during his tenure as the Chief Executive of the bank and to bid him farewell.
In his words, “Our visit is to express our gratitude to the management of Ecobank and the outgoing managing director for his support and receptiveness to the interest of workers during his tenure.
“We enjoyed open access to him, and this went a long way to promote industrial harmony in the bank. We are inspired by your achievements and loyalty to the Ecobank brand; We bid you goodbye and wish you well in your future endeavours.”
Earlier in his welcome address, Mr Akinwuntan appreciated the warm relationship he had with the union, urging them to extend the same to his successor.
He pointed out that industrial harmony goes a long way to creating an environment for any business to thrive.
According to him, “Ecobank is a unique financial institution with presence in more African countries than any other private sector organization, be it in banking, aviation or manufacturing. We have our footprint in 35 countries in Africa. We are the face of Africa. Working for the dignity of Africa and how Africa will survive.
“We have a mandate to transform Africa. We believe banking should be accessible to everybody. That is why we introduced agency banking to provide basic banking services in unbanked communities. I also enjoin our staff to continue to work hard, when a bank does well, everyone smiles.”
The labour union presented an award of excellence to Mr Akinwuntan in recognition and appreciation of his outstanding support and a positive disposition to industrial relations issues as managing director of Ecobank.
Adedapo Adesanya 
Aduragbemi Omiyale