The United Bank for Africa (UBA) has come under sustained criticism after disgruntled staff of its Customer Fulfilment Centre (CFC) lost their jobs on April 4, a week after management received an anonymous email complaint of workplace harassment.

When FIJ reported the sacking on April 7, Ramon Nasir, the bank’s public relations officer, said UBA was investigating the claims by the whistleblower under the moniker ‘Flourish Adeleke’.

Afterwards, FIJ learnt the bank was instead investigating Adeleke’s real identity, and at least four recruiting agencies were interviewing sacked staff to uncover who the whistleblower was.

One month later, the sacked staff received a fraction of their termination compensation, and the management has yet to comment on its efforts to probe the allegations made in the March 28 anonymous email addressed to Tony Elumelu, UBA CEO, and other management officials.

FULL TEXT:
Dear UBA Management,

Good day. I hope this mail meets you well.

This email is lengthy, but it highlights the severe injustices occurring within the UBA CFC. Over time, the work environment has become increasingly hostile, unsafe, and detrimental to employees’ well-being. It is crucial that these issues are addressed immediately. While these problems have persisted for a long time, the past few months have been especially unbearable, particularly in the Email Department.

Customer service is the backbone of any financial institution, and CFC plays a critical role in ensuring the smooth operation of UBA. However, the department has become an environment marked by mistreatment, intimidation, and toxic leadership. Contract staff, despite their status, deserve to be treated with dignity and respect. Unfortunately, this is not the case in CFC, where management engages in outright bullying and threats

If the company is truly committed to fostering growth and retaining its workforce, immediate intervention is necessary.

BULLYING AND THREAT

The management of CFC, under the leadership of Uzo and Oluchi Akaeme, the workplace has become a center of bullying, maltreatment, and intimidation, creating an atmosphere of fear and distress among staff, with Oluchi Akaeme being the main perpetrator. She embodies cruelty in every possible way. She causes distress and tears daily.(I align my spirit with those she has caused pain, she will never be happy and I firmly believe that she will be held accountable for her actions. She will receive the consequences of every injustice she has inflicted and plans to inflict.)

Uzo initially joined CFC with the intent of making improvements based on what she had heard about the department. However, she has failed to accomplish even half of what her predecessor, Prince Ayewoh, achieved. (GC Sir, if you are reading this, we commend you! May you be rewarded greatly for your leadership, fairness, and dedication.) Unfortunately, Uzo has now become part of the problem, transforming into another oppressive force within CFC. Alongside Oluchi, she operates with a high level of impunity, with their accomplice, Enoch, a security officer who far exceeds his jurisdiction. Through his actions, employees have been suspended, dismissed, forced to repay off-days, and assigned excessive targets.

It is inconceivable that in CFC, a security officer is empowered to threaten staff. Employees are routinely victimized under this oppressive rule. A rule was enforced that no one is allowed to remain in the office past closing hours, which is understandable from an organizational standpoint. However, some employees travel long distances, from places like Sango Otta in Ogun State, to work at CFC. Many choose to stay back to complete their targets rather than risk losing their jobs. Despite this, Uzo and Oluchi have instructed security personnel to remove anyone found in the office premises after closing hours, even as late as midnight.

What makes this situation even more alarming is that security personnel conduct routine checks around 9-10 PM, ensuring no one stays overtime except those working night shifts. If employees complete their targets late at night and are ready to leave (e.g., 10-11 PM), Enoch intentionally delays their exit, insisting they wait until he finishes his rounds before unlocking the gate. This delay can extend for an hour or more. Even when approached on the ground floor or stairway with a request to leave, he refuses, demanding that employees wait until his inspection is complete. Despite this, he still forces them to leave at unsafe hours, due to the authority he has been given, knowing no one will question his actions. (It is important to note that multiple security officers are on duty at all times, he could have easily instructed another officer to open the gate.) If an employee calls Oluchi for reconsideration, as she is the one who issues the directive to remove staff regardless of the time, she heartlessly instructs them to leave, showing no concern for their safety.

However, Oluchi plays favorites within the Inbound Unit, allowing certain individuals to stay overnight without any scrutiny. She is fully aware of this and turns a blind eye. Many employees in Inbound regularly sleep over, and in fact, there is a small room beside Uzo’s office where they stay and engage in inappropriate activities. This blatant favoritism is both unjust and discriminatory.

There have been numerous cases of kidnappings, “one-chance” robberies, and attacks on employees leaving work late. These incidents are well known within CFC, yet no solutions have been proposed, nor have affected employees received any form of compensation. The only response Uzo could offer was that if someone has an early appointment or flight, they would leave their home early, adding that such attacks happen everywhere, not just at CFC. This lacks empathy and fails to address the real issue at hand. A little emotional intelligence would go a long way in handling such matters.

Employees working weekends or night shifts who are caught wearing slippers are severely punished. The punishment includes being sent back home and having to report on an off-day to make up for the “offense.” even by the security officer, Enoch. In today’s economic climate, where transportation costs have doubled, such penalties are unreasonable and unjust.

Oluchi routinely bullies and threatens employees. She has openly stated that she will “deal with” staff, warning them that they have “seen nothing yet.” just because she does not like them. Uzo goes as far as calling employees derogatory names, including “GOATS,” emphasizing that they will be treated as such.

CONFISCATION OF STAFF PHONES

One of the rules in CFC is that employees are not allowed to use their phones, yet QAs, Follow-ups, and Team Leads are exempt from this rule, lmao, as if they are incapable of fraudulent acts, dey play!. This selective enforcement is absurd. On a particular Saturday, Oluchi and Uzo demanded that everyone submit their phones. After compliance, Oluchi locked them away and left the office, despite not working weekends. Without proper communication, she deprived adults of their phones for an entire weekend. Phones were only returned on Monday, with some employees receiving theirs even later in the week, forcing them to come to the office on their off days just to retrieve them. This is a blatant disregard for personal rights.

UNREALISTIC TARGETS

Although Oluchi is supposed to be the Head of the Inbound Unit, she has taken control of all units, micromanaging every activity. She even reviews security footage on her off days just to find faults and sanction employees, lmao clearly an act of a sadist. Recently, email unit targets were increased to 150 interactions during the day and 165 at night.

How is it possible to effectively process 150 emails in 8-9 hours? This is why so many escalations occur, employees rush to meet unrealistic targets rather than ensure quality. Since they are not permitted to stay late, unfinished work is carried over to the next day, meaning if someone leaves 40 emails unprocessed, they begin the next day with 190 interactions. For night shift employees, even when the target was 150, they were unable to sleep because they needed to complete their workload. Now, with the target increased to 165, employees are expected to function at night without proper rest, defying natural biological needs.

Please note that there are three shifts: Morning (7 AM – 4 PM), Afternoon (10 AM – 7 PM), and Night (6 PM – 7 AM). However, these official operating hours are not being adhered to, as employees are forced to work excessively late due to unrealistic targets. For instance, Morning and Afternoon shift employees often do not leave until 10 or 11 PM, while Night shift employees frequently remain at work until 12 or even 1 PM the following day. This situation is completely unacceptable.

You cannot prioritize both quality and quantity when the targets are unrealistic. This is exactly why backlogs persist, and escalations continue to rise. Employees are unable to thoroughly resolve emails with quality, ensuring that customer complaints, requests, and inquiries are properly addressed, because they are constantly racing against their impossible targets. The focus is on speed rather than accuracy, just to meet quotas and go home.

It is simply unrealistic to expect quality when processing 150-165 emails within an 8-hour shift. Oluchi, I challenge you to handle just 30 emails(20 customer responded and 10 new ones) within 8 hours. Let’s break this down mathematically.

Network failures frequently disrupt work, often for 1-2 hours, yet targets remain unchanged. This results in extended working hours, reduced rest, and excessive pressure, all for a mere salary of ₦131,000. While we acknowledge that we are contract staff, we are aware of how contract employees are treated in other financial institutions. Not only do they earn more, but they are treated with far greater respect.

Our contributions at UBA CFC are not recognized. We are merely slaves under the tyranny of Uzo and Oluchi.

Recently, Oluchi deliberately dismantled the well-structured and cohesive email unit teams. Despite the toxicity in the workplace, employees found solace in their respective team. However, Oluchi claimed that employees were “too comfortable and happy” in their team and therefore reshuffled them out of spite.

Bonus (Oluchi Akaeme, no matter how prayerful you are in private, know that God does not support evil. Your desires will not come to fruition, and you will inevitably fall into the pit you have dug for others.)

We work beyond what we earn. We are the front-liners of CFC, yet we are not acknowledged. When back-end teams, such as Dispute Issuance, Virtual Banking, and CRP, make errors, the blame falls on us. Our voices, opinions, and reasons are disregarded; instead, we are met with severe punishment.

Employees resign from CFC every single week. This is serious matter that should warrant investigation. No company should experience mass resignations on a weekly basis, yet management remains indifferent.

The toxic environment in CFC is unsustainable!

These conditions are not only unacceptable but also violate fundamental workplace ethics and labor rights. Employees deserve to work in an environment that is safe, fair, and free from harassment or intimidation.

I urge you to investigate this matter thoroughly and take immediate action to restore professionalism and fairness in the workplace. We demand change. If this matter is not addressed internally, It could lead to further escalation, including official complaints to labor authorities and the internet, where the world will take notice of what is happening within “UNITED BANK FOR AFRICA”

Best Regards,

Anonymous

-Fij

[email protected]