Reactions have trailed a mail by one of Polaris Bank’s senior managers to Muslim staff in her unit which banned them from observing Jumu’ah prayers.
Gatekeepers News reports that the senior manager, in the leaked mail, maintained that the bank did not have a policy that permits employees to go for religious activities during work hours.
The mail read, “Dear all, it has been observed that on Fridays, you leave your work desks to attend the Jumat service bearing in mind the impact of your absence on the workflow and productivity of Yes Centre.
“Kindly note that there is no provision made anywhere in the bank’s policy for employees to attend any religious activities during work hours. Going forward, such permissions would not be granted on the Yes Centre platform and any infraction of this directive would be dealt with accordingly. You are all expected to acknowledge the receipt of this mail. Thank you.”
Some Muslims in Sokoto, upon news of the mail, trooped out en masse to reportedly close their bank account with Polaris bank.
Similarly, Nigerians on Twitter have condemned the bank’s officials over the development.
A Twitter user, @Biyatife said, “This is a horrible policy by Polaris Bank. Muslims should be allowed to attend Friday Jumat Service. Undebatable!”
Another Tweep, @Damkarwa2 wrote: “The action of your employee, Damilola Adebara, is nothing other than religious sentiment, bigotry, extremism, and intolerance. Whoever the person is, Adebara must come out and apologise publicly or else we Muslims would close all our accounts with Polaris Ban.”
In response to the development, Polaris bank, in a statement on Wednesday, said the manager’s submission did not represent its position as a corporate entity, noting that it adhered to Nigeria being a secular state.
The bank added that it does not have a policy that restricts the practice of religion.
“The attention of the bank has been drawn to a shared screenshot of mail sent by a supervisor to staff in her department in respect of Friday prayers.
“This is to clarify that Nigeria is a secular nation and our Bank is guided by this standard. Accordingly, there is no policy in the Bank that forbids staff from practicing the religion of their choice; hence, the said staff had acted in ignorance and we have since addressed the issue internally.
“We assure all staff, customers, and the public that we will continue to respect the fundamental rights and freedom of worship of every employee,” Polaris Bank stated.
