The House of Representatives has continued its investigation into the alleged retrenchment of staff by the Olayemi Cardoso-led management of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), PHILIP NYAM reviews the proceedings
Since his confirmation as governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) by the Senate on September 23, 2023, Olayemi Cardoso has initiated a transformative economic agenda at the nation’s apex bank, which according to him is to foster stability, drive growth and revitalise confidence in the country’s economy.
The reforms also include unifying the exchange rate windows, recalibrating monetary policy tools and increasing the cash reserve ratio for banks to maintain liquidity among others.
While some of these policies have been applauded, others received scathing criticisms.
One of the policies that has been mired in controversy is the reorganisation and laying off of some staff.
One of such policies was the relocation of some departments from the headquarters to the Lagos Office.
They included banking and supervision, other financial institutions supervision, consumer protection, payment system management and financial policy regulations departments.
Although the apex bank had explained that the decision was aimed at decongesting the head office and adhering to safety standards and improving office space efficiency, the move did not go down well with some staff and stakeholders.
Then came the retirement or disengagement of staff, which also received commendation and condemnation.
According to reports, different categories of staff have been disengaged in the last 12 months and it was against this backdrop that following motions by different lawmakers, the House of Representatives waded into the matter by inaugurating an ad hoc committee led by the Chief Whip, Hon. (APC, Gombe) to investigate the latest allegations of forceful retirement of 1,000 workers.
Retrenchment
It all began on May 29, 2024, when the House of Representatives mandated its Committee on Banking and Currency and Federal Character to investigate the circumstances leading to the alleged sack of about 600 staff members of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).
The decision was taken following the adoption of a motion on urgent public importance sponsored by the chairman of the House Committee on Solid Minerals, Hon. Jonathan Gbefwi Gaza (SDP, Nasarawa).
Presenting the motion, Gbefwi noted that the CBN as part of an extensive reform, has been downsizing the workforce “Which has affected close to 600 employees including directors and nearly all staff members in the Governor’s Directorate being terminated.”
He said: “The recent downsizing by the apex bank has raised significant concerns and controversies among stakeholders, including the affected employees, labour unions, and the general public.”
Gaza had lamented that those affected by the CBN’s action are top-notch professionals whose skills may be lost to Europe and America, thus, leaving the country short-changed.
According to him, “we are worried that these retrenchments, without any sort of fair hearings or panels, could cause the nation a lot in settlements.”
He added: “A director’s tenure according to the civil service rules is two terms of four years or 60 years of service, whichever comes first. This makes them like permanent secretaries. The capacity being thrown away be easily replaced?
“The House is worried about staff morale and progression. People choose careers in civil service so that they can end careers like their superiors and mentors who trained them.
Seeing their bosses being treated with disregard and like criminals will send a message that professionalism is not rewarded, as well as, meritorious service to our great nation Nigeria.” However, nothing was heard about the resolution.
After the resolution on the retrenchment of 600 staff, the House again passed another resolution constituting an ad hoc committee with the Chief Whip, Hon. Bello Kumo as chairman to investigate the alleged planned retrenchment of another set of 1,000 staff.
The lawmakers said the planned retrenchment would have socio-economic implications for the affected individuals, their dependants and the broader economy.
The House also resolved to probe the planned N50 billion compensation pay-offf for staff willing to take the retirement option.
Consequently, it asked the bank to suspend the process pending the outcome of its investigation.
This resolution followed a motion of urgent public importance sponsored by Hon. Kama Nkemkama (LP, Ebonyi) on December 20.
Nkemkama’s motion was based on a report in a national daily, which claimed that the CBN had offered its staff the option of voluntary retirement.
While presenting the motion, Nkemkama narrated the contents of the report, stating that “1,000 staff across various levels [were] affected as part of its restructuring process under the CBN Governor’s leadership.”
He noted that “such a significant decision has socio-economic implications for the affected individuals, their dependants and the broader economy, potentially leading to increased unemployment and public dissatisfaction.”
The lawmaker also raised concerns about the planned payment of N50 billion to the laid-off staff, stating that it lacked sufficient and oversight mechanisms.
“The reported pay-off scheme, amounting to N50 billion, may lack sufficient accountability and oversight mechanisms, posing risks of mismanagement and abuse of public funds in a sector vital to Nigeria’s financial stability,” he said.
The House then resolved to constitute a high-level ad hoc committee to investigate the matter and probe the legality of the planned action.
It will also engage with the leadership of the CBN to evaluate the potential economic and institutional impact of mass retirement on Nigeria’s financial sector.
Probe begins
Following the second resolution, the ad hoc committee began the investigation on December 20 with the promise that it would be fair to all parties involved in the matter.
Chairman of the ad hoc committee, Hon. Kumo expressed dismay with the failure of the CBN governor, Yemi Cardoso and Minister for Labour and Employment, Muhammadu Dingyadi.
The hearing was initially scheduled to hold on Wednesday but had to be moved to Thursday due to the 2025 budget presentation ceremony by President Bola Tinubu.
The lawmaker commended the representative of the Federal Character Commission for appearing promptly at the investigation.
He however, warned that the committee would be left with no choice but to sanction government officials who failed to honour the committee’s invitation.
He said a new date for the hearing would be communicated to them in due course. “We are guided by our laws.
We will not allow anybody to take us for granted. Let me be clear on this, any day we fix again and any of the organisations that refuse to show up, we will apply the law.
“The committee would not shirk its responsibility in not only ensuring fair hearing to all parties involved in the saga,” he said.
While declaring open the exercise, Speaker Tajudeen Abbas acknowledged that the impact of the CBN action would be felt by not only the individual workers affected and their families but the whole country.
He charged the committee to do due diligence on ascertaining the formulae used in computing the N50 billion pay-off amount to the affected workers.
Abbas urged the committee to ensure due process charging them to ensure that the decision to relieve the workers of their jobs aligns with global best practices and extant provisions of the law.
Cardoso’s defence
At the resumption of the investigation on Friday, January 3, 2025, the CBN governor, Olayemi Cardoso, while testifying insisted that the 1000 staff of the bank, who disengaged in December 2024, were neither sacked nor forced to leave but voluntarily resigned with full benefits.
The CBN governor explained that contrary to reports that the staff were sacked or forced to quit, they all left the bank of their own volition.
Represented by the Deputy Director, Corporate Service, Bala Bello, the CBN boss further explained that the issue of the Early Exit Programme and the Restructuring as well as reorganisation was to optimise the bank for enhanced efficiency.
According to him, “They are basically ways and means through which the performance of an organisation is optimised by putting and ensuring that round pegs are put in right holes. “The manpower requirement of the bank is actually met.
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.
“You are very much aware, Chairman, the entire world is going through a process of digitising its operations.
Once that is done, a lot of opportunities would be created, just like a lot of redundancies are also equally created.
And 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.
And I believe the Central Bank is not necessarily the first organisation to have done that.
“I’m very happy to mention that the early exit programme of the Central Bank is 100 per cent voluntary. It’s not mandatory. Nobody has been asked to leave, and nobody has been forced to leave.
It’s a completely voluntary programme that has been put in place.” Shedding more light on the issues, the CBN director said:
“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. So, nobody has been asked to leave.
“But people who are based on popular demand, I have to be humble, with a lot of humility, to tell you that this same programme that is taking place is not at the instance of the bank itself.
“Of course, we have our own challenges, and we know where we want to take the bank to. That’s Cardoso and his team, myself included.
“But this popular request actually came from the staff. In the past, you have had instances in which cases of stagnation and lack of career progression appear.
I mean, in an organisation, you’ve got a pyramid where from each level to the next level, you know, the gap keeps narrowing.”
As the House reconvenes next Tuesday, the Bello Kumo-led ad hoc investigative committee is expected to submit its reports and findings, which the plenary will deliberate.
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