At least eight directors within the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) are set to receive early retirement notices from the apex bank this week by Cardoso.
These directors, several of whom were previously reassigned to a division of the bank, FSS 2020, under Cardoso’s Directorate, located in the Maitama District of Abuja since November 24, 2023, have been kept in a holding pattern awaiting “further directives.” They were closely associated with Former Governor Godwin Emefiele.
Insiders within the bank suggest that some of them have already received their termination letters as of Friday, March 15, 2024. However, it remains unclear whether these individuals were offered early retirement or if their appointments were outrightly terminated. “We are unsure if they were given early retirement or if their appointments were terminated entirely,” one source revealed.
Similarly, sources could not confirm whether these individuals facing early retirement had been found guilty of any misconduct. Most sources attribute the decision to sack these officials to their close association with the previous governor of the bank, Mr. Godwin Emefiele.
News of this impending dismissal has been circulating since last Thursday. The decision, still shrouded in secrecy from the media, has sparked significant concern among CBN staff, who fear it may signal further layoffs under the current management.
Before this development, the apex bank had relocated over 150 staff from the Banking Supervision Department (BSD), one of its 29 departments, to Lagos. The BSD operates under the Financial System Stability Directorate of the CBN.
The relocation sparked controversy nationwide, with many individuals from northern regions alleging it was an attempt to remove northerners from the institution. The CBN denied these claims, citing the need for a reorganization to ensure effective onsite examination of the country’s 24 banks, many of which are headquartered in Lagos. The bank also cited the need to reduce congestion at its corporate headquarters.
There were widespread allegations that during the Buhari Administration, many politicians abused their privileges to secure appointments for their relatives in the CBN, leading to redundancies and staff loitering at the bank’s headquarters due to lack of office space and equipment.
Meanwhile, it has been reported from various sources that some of the directors affected by the recent action of the CBN management have threatened legal action, while others have resigned, citing the toxic work environment within the institution.
Speaking to Daily Trust, one of the affected directors who pleaded anonymity said: “We thank God for the time we spent, and the impact that we have made. I will not challenge it. Once my letter is handed to me tomorrow (today) I will gladly take a walk. Life goes on.”
Also, there are insinuations that the CBN governor is considering outsiders to replace some of the sacked directors, and one of the persons allegedly penciled down to take over as Director of Security is retired Assistant Inspector General (AIG) Hakeem Odumosu, who was one time commissioner of police in Lagos State.
Some of the staff who spoke with our reporter accused the current leadership of the CBN, Cardoso of harbouring “a vindictive mindset” to punish all personnel that were quite close to Emefiele, while he held sway as chief executive of the bank.
Cardoso, upon assumption of office, immediately wanted to sack all the directors identified to be “quite close” to Emefiele.
However, that move was halted when he was advised against such action because those officers were not political appointees. “So, they could not be sacked at will, as was the case of the Acting Governor, Mr. Folashodun Shonubi, and all his deputies”, one of our sources said.
Sources disclosed further that since the new CBN governor could not sack the directors outright, he decided to transfer virtually all of them out of the headquarters in November 2023.
The FSS 2020 is often seen as a less prestigious posting within the CBN, and the redeployment of the eight directors has been likened to being sent to “Siberia.”
Among the directors transferred to the FSS 2020 on the 24th of November last year were Samuel Chukwuyem Okojere; Abdulmumin Abdulsalam Isa, PhD; Dr. Elizabeth AMos Kwaghe; Dr. Maureen Omolola Chukwurah; Mr. Arinze Stanley; while Mr. Philip Yila Yusuf was moved to that office since 26th October, 2023.
Investigation revealed that in the latest transfers done by Cardoso, Dr. Mahmoud Hassan, formerly of the Monetary Policy Department, now heads the Trade and Exchange Department, and the former Director of Human Resources, who has been moved to Capacity Development. #Cardoso
Under Yila’s leadership, according to our sources, the Development Finance Department (DFD), which he held before his redeployment, played a crucial role in supporting businesses through increased access to finance for priority sectors under a variety of programmes such as the Anchor Borrowers’ Programme (ABP), the Agri-Business/Small and Medium Enterprises Investment Scheme (AGSMEIS), and the Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises Development Fund (MSMEDF) and disbursement to households and small businesses during the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, to cushion the impact of the consequent lockdown.
The current CBN Governor, Yemi Cardoso, has criticised these quasi-fiscal policies of his predecessor, Mr. Emefiele, saying that they resulted in N10 trillion being pumped into the economy through intervention programmes, an action he said was responsible for large money supply in the economy.