Ecobank Nigeria has said it did not disengage its members of staff, contrary to reports that some of its employees were sacked.

The bank said in a statement on Wednesday that it decided not to renew the contract of its third-party recruitment agencies which expired recently “and as such, returned this category of personnel back to the agencies who are their employers.”

It said, “As a demonstration of the bank’s concern and compassion for the affected personnel of our contractors, palliative measures were put in place by the bank to cushion the effect on them.

“These include payment of contract cessation packages of over half a billion naira already paid through their employers as well as opportunity given to those with requisite qualification to apply to the bank for permanent employment.

“In addition, the bank has offered them the opportunity to become Xpress point agents of Ecobank as a way of further providing them entrepreneurial and financial empowerment. May we state that Ecobank is not obligated to renew its contract with the service providers involved.”