The Central Bank of Nigeria has clarified that the 1,000 employees who left the bank in December 2024 as part of its Early Exit Programme did so willingly and were not forced to leave.
The CBN Governor, Olayemi Cardoso, represented by the Deputy Director of Corporate Services, Bala Bello, made the statement at an ad-hoc committee hearing of the House of Representatives in Abuja.
The committee is examining the circumstances surrounding the exits and the allocation of a N50 billion severance package for the affected employees.
Bello explained, “The Early Exit Programme, Restructuring, and Re-organisation are strategies aimed at enhancing the bank’s performance by aligning personnel with the organisation’s operational requirements.
“These approaches ensure that key responsibilities, performance indicators, and resource needs be it human, capital, or IT—are balanced to achieve optimum efficiency.”
Bello emphasised the changing nature of banking, stating that “The global trend towards digitization creates both opportunities and redundancies.
“In our case, staff requests for voluntary leaves came from the employees, not management.
“The CBN’s early exit programme is entirely voluntary, with no staff being forced to leave.”
Bello further stated, “This exercise isn’t unique to CBN or government agencies; organisations worldwide, both public and private, undertake similar programmes to address issues like stagnation and lack of career progression. For example, in an organisation with a pyramid structure, there comes a point where upward mobility becomes limited, and stagnation sets in.”
Addressing the bank’s structural challenges, Bello added, “With 30 departments at the CBN, it’s impractical to have 60 directors overseeing them. This creates career bottlenecks for capable and willing staff, who find themselves stuck due to the lack of vacancies.”
The Chairman of the Ad-hoc Committee, Bello Kumo, acknowledged the CBN’s efforts to implement its restructuring initiatives.
He said, “The House of Representatives understands the objectives of the Early Exit Programme, but we seek clarity on its goals, timeline, and the rationale behind its implementation.”
The hearing continues as the committee reviews the details of the programme and its implications for the bank and its employees.
