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.”

Credit: Sun