NiDCOM Raises The Alarm As Gambian Central Bank’s Directive Threatens Jobs Of 57 Nigerians

With about 58 days to the end of the year, which is the timeline the Central Bank of Gambia had given banks in the country to phase out non-citizens and replace them with Gambians, the Nigerians in Diaspora Commission (NiDCOM) is calling for a fair and transparent implementation of the directive to protect the interests of affected Nigerian professionals.

This is as the commission said the directive would directly affect 57 Nigerian professionals who hold valid residency and work permits and are currently employed by four banks with Nigeria origin.

Currently four banks headquartered in Nigeria operate in Gambia alongside Ecobank Transnational. The four banks are First Bank, Access Bank, Zenith Bank and Guaranty Trust Bank.

The Central Bank of Gambia had in early September issued a directive to all banks in the country instructing them to embark on a phased approach to replacing existing non-Gambian staff with suitably qualified Gambian nationals with appropriate arrangements of skill transfer and continuity of operations.

The banks are expected to have, complied with the transition directive by December 31, 2026.

However, chief executive of NiDCOM, Abike Dabiri in an X post described the directive by the Gambian apex bank as “worrisome” saying “while NiDCOM recognises Gambia’s right to promote local employment and develop its workforce, such policies must be implemented fairly and in a manner that respects existing employment arrangements, legitimate work authorisations and the principles of African solidarity and regional integration.

“Information available indicates that 57 Nigerian professionals employed by four Nigerian-origin banks operating in Gambia which could be affected by the directive. These professionals reportedly hold valid residency and work permits and have contributed significantly to the Gambian banking sector.

“The economic contributions of these four banks are equally significant. Collectively, they account for approximately 37.2 per cent of total banking industry deposits (GMD35.3 billion), 32.6 per cent of loans (GMD7.67 billion) and 37 per cent of industry assets (GMD44,78 billion).

“They also account for approximately 34.5 per cent of investments in Central Bank bonds and reportedly contributed 90 per cent of the funding supporting the operations of the National Water and Electricity Company (NAWEC)”

A Gambian, Essa, who spoke with LEADERSHIP noted that while the directive was not targeted at Nigerians, a situation where more than 50 per cent of the banking staff were foreigners in a country where unemployment among the nationals is rising was quite concerning.

Essa, while noting that the banking sector is critical to national security added that “when you go to so many banks in Zambia, you have so many foreign nationals. We don’t have a problem with, but I believe the government is doing so because they want to they want to trim down the unemployment rate when it comes to Gambians.”

“The unemployment rate keeps getting higher, and so many Gambians are getting frustrated about it, and they were more or less forcing the government to make steps like that. Most businesses are being controlled by foreign nationals. Gambians are really open to people coming here and investing, but banks are very key sector in every economy. So that is the gap the government is trying is trying to bridge,” he said