The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has once again clarified that the 1,000 staff members who were disengaged in December 2024 were not forced to quit the apex bank.
CBN Governor Olayemi Cardoso made this statement on Friday in Abuja during an investigative hearing by the House of Representatives ad-hoc committee. The committee is probing the circumstances that led to the exit of the staff members and how the sum of N50 billion severance package for the affected persons was arrived at.
Governor Cardoso, represented by Deputy Director of Corporate Services Bala Bello, added that the affected persons opted to disengage through the voluntary Early Exit Programme with payment of full benefits. He explained that the Early Exit Programme, Restructuring, and Re-organisation “are basically ways and means through which the performance of an organisation is optimised by ensuring that round pegs are put in the right holes. The manpower requirement of the bank is actually met.”
Bello further elaborated on the reasons behind the program, stating, “The man loading, which is the key responsibilities, key performance indicators of the bank, vis-a-vis the number of people driving the performance of that bank, is at a level where it’s optimum, balancing the human resource requirement, the capital requirement, the skill requirement, as well as the IT requirement of the bank.”
He highlighted the ongoing digitisation process in the world and how it creates both opportunities and redundancies. Bello emphasized that the CBN’s Early Exit Programme is 100 percent voluntary and that nobody has been asked or forced to leave. He also pointed out that similar exercises are being undertaken by several organisations across the world, both in the private and public sectors.
Bello addressed the issue of stagnation and lack of career progression within the organisation, explaining the pyramid structure and the limitations in terms of available vacancies for higher positions. He noted that even though some staff members are qualified, able, and willing, the vacancies may not be there, leading to stagnation for a period of time.
The Chairman of the Ad-hoc Committee, Bello Kumo, stated that the Committee’s responsibility is to submit the report to the House.