The governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Olayemi Cardoso, has said that the 1,000 staff members who left the bank did so voluntarily.
He made this remark on Friday during the resumed House of Representatives investigative hearing on the disengagement of these workers by the CBN.
The CBN on December 4, clarified that its early exit package was entirely voluntary and carried no negative repercussions for eligible staff.
This statement came in response to reports that 1,000 employees had been dismissed from the apex bank.
Reacting, the House of Representatives called on the apex bank to halt the “planned” retirement of 1,000 staff.
The lower chamber also formed an ad hoc committee to investigate the “process and legality” of the exercise.
However, during the resumption of the investigative hearing on Friday, the CBN governor clarified that the 1,000 staff members were not compelled to resign.
Cardoso, represented by the CBN’s Deputy Director of Corporate Services, Bala Bello, also explained that the early exit program, along with the restructuring and reorganization, was aimed at optimizing the bank for improved efficiency.
“They are basically ways and means through which the performance of an organisation is optimised by putting, ensuring that round pegs are put in right holes.
“The manpower requirement of the bank is actually met.
“I’m very happy to mention, Mr. Chairman and members of the committee, that the early exit program of the central bank is 100 percent voluntary,” Cardoso said.
He added “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.
“I believe several organisations across the world, and even within this country, both in the private sector and the public sector, are undertaking similar exercises. So nobody has been asked to leave. With a lot of humility, I will tell you that this same program that is taking place is not at the instance of the bank.”
Cardoso mentioned that the CBN had been facing numerous challenges.
“In the past, you have had cases of stagnation and lack of career progression. I mean, in an organisation, you’ve got a pyramid where from each level to the next level, you know, the gap keeps narrowing. If not, you are going to have a quasi-organisation, inverted pyramid.
“There are several instances in which similar exercise took place in the central bank, which has happened several times. This is not the first time. It’s not the second time. It’s not the third time. It has happened several times.
“You’ve had instances in which people at the top request that, look, it’s going to take me X number of years to actually aspire to become a director in an organisation. But right now, there’s no vacancy. And the person sitting next to me probably has eight years to go. Meanwhile, I have seven.”
He further said “So there’s no career growth. And a lot of opportunities are out there. For example, among the people that have left, there are, like, three or four people who are going to set up a bank.
“The approach that we told them, literally, anything you want to do, if you need the support of the central bank, you are done. So the popular demand then was at the top, people that are stagnated, people that don’t have any career progression any longer, they have reached their peak, and they are willing to go and take other risks before they get to an age where they become scared to take risks.
“You know, those programmes are actually put in place to ensure that those people are given an opportunity to actually exit, go and start other things with their lives.”
