*Olayemi Cardoso, Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, tells the House of Representatives Ad-hoc Committee probing the circumstances of the exit of 1,000 staff members December 2024, that the CBN Early Exit programme is a 100 percent voluntary, stating ‘nobody has been asked to leave, and nobody has been forced to leave’

Isola Moses | 绿帽献妻

Sequel to the recent mass sack of staff by the country’s banking regulator, the Central Bank of Nigeria has clarified that the 1,000 staff members disengaged December 2024 were not forced to call it quits.

绿帽献妻 reports Dr. Olayemi Cardoso, Governor of CBN, stated this Friday, January 3, 2025, in Abuja, FCT, while appearing at an investigative hearing of the Ad-hoc Committee of the House of Representatives, in the National Assembly (NASS), in Abuja.

The House Ad-hoc Committee is investigating the circumstances leading to the retrenchment of 1,000 staff, and the Bank arrived at the reported N50 billion severance package for the affected persons staff.

Represented at the Ad-hoc Committee鈥檚 hearing by Bala Bello, Deputy Director, Corporate Services, Cardoso reportedly said that the 1,000 affected workers voluntarily opted to disengage through the voluntary Early Exit Programme with payment of full benefits from the CBN.

Essence of Early Exit Programme at CBN, by Cardoso

The Governor of CBN also explained the Early Exit Programme, Restructuring and Re-organisation 鈥渁re basically ways and means through which the performance of an organisation is optimised by ensuring that round pegs are put in right holes.

“The manpower requirement of the bank is actually met.”

He further stated: 鈥淭he 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鈥檚 optimum, balancing the human resource requirement, the capital requirement, the skill requirement, as well as the IT (Information Technology) requirement of the bank.

鈥淵ou are very much aware that the entire world is going through a process of digitising its operations.”

Cardoso said: “And then once that is done, a lot of opportunities are created, just like a lot of redundancies are also equally created.

鈥淎nd you have had instances in which, in the past, the request for staff to actually exit the bank voluntarily actually emanated on the part of the staff.”

CBN: Early Exit Programme completely 鈥榲oluntary, not mandatory鈥�

The CBN Chief averred: “And I believe the Central Bank is not necessarily the first organisation to have done that.

鈥淚鈥檓 very happy to mention that the early exit programme of the CBN is 100 percent voluntary. It鈥檚 not mandatory.

“Nobody has been asked to leave, and nobody has been forced to leave. It鈥檚 a completely voluntary programme that has been put in place.鈥�

The Bank as well observed the disengagement exercise is not restricted to government agencies alone.

“I believe several organisations across the world, and even within this country, both in terms of the private sector and the public sector, are undertaking similar exercises.

鈥淚n the past, we had instances in which cases of stagnation and lack of career progression appear,” stated he.

Cardoso also clarified: “In an organisation, you鈥檝e got a pyramid where from each level to the next level, the gap keeps narrowing. If not, you are going to have a quasi-organisation, an inverted pyramid.

鈥淚t doesn鈥檛 work. It gets to the level where you have, for example, 30 Departments in the Central Bank. You cannot have 60 Directors, manning 30 Departments. It鈥檚 not going to work.”

He said: 鈥淥nce those vacancies are filled, it gets to a level where some people, even though they are very qualified, able and willing, but the vacancies are not there.

“And then they got to a level where they are stagnated for a period of time.鈥�

Responsibility of House Ad-hoc Committee: Hon. Kumo

Bello Kumo, Chairman of the Ad-hoc Committee of the House of Representatives, in his earlier remarks at the hearing, had noted that the Committee鈥檚 responsibility is to submit the report to the House.

Kumo said: 鈥淟et me start by saying that the House of Representatives, the 10th National Assembly, understand that CBN is implementing the Restructuring, Reorganising and the Early Exit Programme.

“I don鈥檛 know whether the CBN Governor can explain or brief this Committee on the objectives of the Restructuring, Reorganising and Early Exit Programme to this Committee.

The Chairman of the Ad-hoc Committee also asked: 鈥淐an you explain the Early Exit Program and what you intend to achieve with it? When it starts, when it will end, and what is the connection?鈥�

Layoffs: Welfare, rights of employees must be protected, says Speaker Abbas

It is recalled that Rt. Hon. (Dr.) Tajudeen Abbas, Speaker of the House of Representatives, recently asked the Central Bank of Nigeria to provide clarification on the “dismissal” of about 1,000 staff members of the Bankers’ Bank, and the subsequent payment of a N50 billion compensation to the affected individuals.

Abbas, represented at the event by Hon. Benjamin Kamu, Deputy Speaker, had made the demand while declaring open the Ad-hoc Committee of the House, investigating the CBN鈥檚 termination/dismissal of members of staff.

The CBN earlier explained that its Early Exit Package for staff is entirely voluntary, and that participation is not mandatory.

Mrs. Hakama Sidi-Ali, Acting Director of Corporate Communications at CBN, in a statement also stressed that no employee would be forced into early retirement under the scheme.

She stated: “The Central Bank of Nigeria has dismissed claims of forced mass retirements, clarifying that its Early Exit Package is entirely voluntary and without any negative repercussions for eligible staff.”

The Speaker, however, tasked the Ad-hoc Committee to proceed and probe the circumstances leading to the Bank’s decision, especially in respect of the current economic challenges in the West African country.

He equally emphasised the need for transparency in the matter, insisting that the welfare and rights of the affected CBN employees must be protected.

Livinus Nwabughiogu, Chief Press Secretary (CPS) to the Deputy Speaker, quoted Dr. Abbas as saying: 鈥淭he committee has been tasked with examining several critical aspects of this issue.

“First, we aim to understand the rationale behind the decision to lay off over 1,000 staff members, particularly during these challenging economic times.”

The Speaker asserted: “The impact of such a significant workforce reduction on individuals, their families, and the broader economy cannot be overlooked.

鈥淎s a legislative body, we recognise the widely accepted principle of running a leaner and more efficient government. We also understand the CBN鈥檚 prerogative in determining policies that align with its operational efficiency.”

The Speaker further noted: “However, such decisions must be balanced against the welfare and rights of employees, as well as the long-term implications for institutional stability.鈥�

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