The Senate has summoned the Minister of Labour, the Central Bank Governor and the Chief Executives of commercials banks to give reasons for the ongoing massive retrenchments in banks.

Chairman of the Senate Committee on Banking Institutions, Sen Rafiu Ibrahim, said the sack of workers has continued in spite of a directive by the Minister of Labour and productivity to desist from the action.

He said it was necessary for the minister and other stakeholders to appear before the senate to give explanations on the directive.

The lawmaker argued that given the sensitive nature of the industry, any misguided statement could have negative effect on the economy.

“Without any prejudice to the position of the minister, as chairman of the committee on banking, insurance and other financial institutions, we need to invite the minister.

“We also need to invite the Central Bank and banks to know if they are talking at all about retrenchment because all the banks in Nigeria are private companies.

“We want to know the basis of the directive and the basis of the threat,’’ Ibrahim said.

Meanwhile, the Senate has directed its Committee on Banking and Finance to resolve the matter with the relevant agencies and report back after four weeks.

•Photo shows Ngige.