COMRADE Fred Ojeh, national president of the Association of Senior Staff of Banks, Insurance and Financial Institutions (Assbifi) has stated that convening a special delegate conference for the two factions may end the long drawn feud that has thrown the association apart for a long time.
It would be recalled that the association has two opposing factions led by Comrade Sanni Lasisi on the one hand and Comrade Fred Ojeh on the other hand.
Ojeh stressed that a delegate conference is necessary because such special delegate conference could go a long way in helping the opposing parties come to a compromise.
While condemning recent actions of the Sanni led faction of the Assbifi, Ojeh lamented thus, “We have told the whole world about the issues that led to the fictionalisation of Assbifi in 2004. Instead of addressing these fundamentals, the Sanni led faction is busy fooling itself that there is no other faction of Assbifi. Whatever lies that is being peddled by the other faction of Assbifi, we will correct it.”
He noted that the recent intervention of the labour centre, the NLC has re-opened negotiation channels, adding, “The NLC, our Assbifi/Nubifie and the management of Union Bank Plc will together explore this new opening for the benefit of all. All leaders should first remove the log in their eyes before removing the spike in another’s eyes.”
In his words, “We strongly believe in the rule of law that is why we are never provoked to do otherwise as is now being perpetrated by the Sanni led faction. The fundamentals have been subjected to two court rulings in our favour at both the NLC and Appeal Court . We hereby call on the honourable minister of labour and productivity and the Trade Union Congress (TUC) to call to order the Sanni Lasisi led faction of Assbifi.”
On previous efforts to settle the two factions and call for a truce, Ojeh stated, “I am a peace loving person. Therefore a couple of times we have made concerted effort to reconcile our differences to see if the association can come back to being one but all efforts failed.”
Three times, Adams Oshiomhole, the governor of Edo State, he said, brought them together to mediate for peace to reign but all ended in disarray.
To him, “I don’t know why they are resisting the process of truce.  It could be for some selfish reasons. Maybe some people occupying some high positions in the other faction don’t want to let go of such position they still want to remain in authority and be in the helm of affairs. These people are just there for their selfish reasons and not for the interest of the group.”
He therefore called on the other faction to embrace peace and discard all personal interests   for the benefit of the whole.
Reacting to the shakeup in the banking industry, Ojeh posited that both staff and shareholders of Union Bank are capable of buying the bank if the need to dispose of it arises.
While arguing that there are various ways to recapitalise a bank, Ojeh reiterated that whatever method the CBN wants to adopt, consideration of the staff and shareholders must come first.