Reps accuse banks of promoting prostitution

•House to lift Nigerian Legion with N5m
From Kemi Yesufu and Fred Itua, Abuja
The House of Representatives yesterday accused banks of
encouraging prostitution by setting unrealistic targets for
their female marketers. It also decried casualisation in the
industry, describing it as slavery.
Hon. Segun Alexander Adekola, who sponsored the motion
entitled, “Urgent Need to Curb Unwholesome Practices of
Banks in Nigeria,” said staffers who don’t meet the largely
unrealistic targets are summarily dismissed.
Contributing to the motion which led to a long debate,
Hon. Rita Orji said in some cases, bankers who failed to
meet targets were sacked through text messages.
Adekola said: “A critical assessment of the targets being
given to these employees to meet, show them to be
unrealistic, unreasonable, ordinarily unattainable and
irrational.
“But these banks resort to unethical means to ensure that
these targets are met by either explicitly or impliedly
encouraging their staff, especially the female ones to
engage in illicit behaviour.”
House Majority Leader, Hon. Femi Gbajabiamila, recalled
that he made an attempt to stop the practice with his
Corporate Prostitution Bill presented in the Sixth Assembly,
saying that the bill got to the stage of a public hearing, but
some bankers shot it down.”
Gbajabiamila, who expressed disappointment that top
female bankers equally raised objections to the bill, noted
that some of the local banks with international affiliations,
wouldn’t attempt to send their staff out to solicit for funds
in their home countries.
Citing Section 34 of the Constitution which protects
Nigerians from inhuman and downgrading treatment, he
said the motion was timely as it would draw attention to
the undignified treatment bankers are being put through.
“Marriages have been wrecked and homes destroyed
because of this practice and I am sure that none of us
here will allow our daughters to be involved in this,” he
said.
Speaker Yakubu Dogara, while calling for a voice vote on
the motion, stressed the need to “appeal to the
conscience” of the bank managements to desist from
sending out young men and women to solicit for million
naira deposits.
The House mandated its Committee on Banking and
Currency to investigate the unwholesome practices and
report its findings within a month.
Meanwhile, lawmakers also resolved yesterday to donate
N5million to the Nigerian Legion.  Hon. Gbajabiamila
raised the motion under Matters of National Public
Importance, calling on the House to support President
Muhammadu Buhari who on Monday donated N10 million
to the legion.