CBN Clarifies Voluntary Exit Of 1,000 Staff, Dismisses Claims Of Forced Resignation

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has reiterated that the 1,000 employees disengaged in December 2024 voluntarily opted for the Early Exit Programme and were not compelled to leave.

CBN Governor Olayemi Cardoso addressed this matter during an investigative hearing held by the House of Representatives’ ad-hoc committee, which is examining the circumstances surrounding the staff exits and the allocation of a ₦50 billion severance package.

Represented by Bala Bello, Deputy Director of Corporate Services, Cardoso explained that the programme was entirely optional and designed to ensure optimal organisational performance.

“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 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 that the entire world is going through a process of digitising its operations. And then once that is done, a lot of opportunities are 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 program of the CBN 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,” he explained.

Bello added that such initiatives are part of broader restructuring and reorganisation efforts aimed at aligning manpower needs with the bank’s operational goals, ensuring that resources and skills are effectively balanced.

He explained, “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.”