There are emerging reports of a subtle cleansing exercise at the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), with reports that some directors under the leadership of Olayemi Cardoso are being disengaged.
News About Nigeria has learned that several directors who previously served under the tenure of the embattled former CBN governor, Godwin Emefiele, have been asked to leave their positions.
Sources close to the affected directors, who preferred to remain anonymous, revealed that the termination was an outright dismissal rather than retirement, contrary to what many might have expected.
The commencement of the disengagement process, which reportedly began last Friday, has reportedly caused apprehension among staff at the apex bank.
According to a young male staff member who spoke to BusinessDay, “What was written in their letters is termination, not retirement. Every day you come in, you see something else. Not the best of times to be in this bank.”
Although the exact number of directors affected by the disengagement is yet to be confirmed, sources suggest that the process may unfold in batches.
Earlier reports indicated that at least eight directors would be mandated to proceed on early retirement this week.
It would be recalled that late last year, Olayemi Cardoso redeployed some directors to the FSS 2020 unit of the bank, which operates under the governor’s purview but is located in the Maitama District of Abuja.
The CBN also relocated over 1,000 staff to its Lagos office, citing the need to align the bank’s structure with its functions and objectives.
A memo issued to the redeployed staff at the time stated, “This is to notify all staff members at the CBN Head Office that we have initiated a decongestion action plan designed to optimise the operational environment of the bank.”
