After being redeployed from the headquarters, at least 1,500 employees of the Central Bank of Nigeria will return to work at its Lagos branch on Friday.
Despite strong criticism, the plan remained in place, according to an insider at the apex bank who spoke exclusively to our correspondent. Affected employees will be returning to work on Friday.
According to an official, “Yes, the plan is still in place, and they will get back to work by February 2, which is the first week of next month.”
The most recent event occurs against the backdrop of the new management’s intention to shift a few CBN divisions to the nation’s economic center in order to improve worker safety, boost output, and free up space at the head office.
According to CBN, a number of reasons led to the decision, including the need to realign the bank’s organizational structure with its goals and missions and reallocate expertise to achieve a more equitable distribution of talent across geographies.
It further stated that it complied with building codes, as demonstrated by the facility manager’s repeated warnings, the Committee on Decongestion of the CBN Head Office’s findings, and its recommendations.
“We have initiated a decongestion action plan designed to optimize the operational environment of the Bank,” stated a memo sent to all staff members at the CBN Head Office.
The objective of this program is to optimize the effective use of our office space while guaranteeing adherence to building safety regulations.
The departments that CBN governor Yemi Cardoso has reportedly designated for relocation are the departments of banking supervision, other financial institutions supervision, consumer protection, payment system management, and financial policy regulations.
The move was opposed by the Northern Elders Forum and a few other Northern organizations, but our reporter learned that the CBN governor was determined to see it through because it would result in a decrease in the number of employees at the headquarters from 4,233 to 2,733.
“A few people have already advanced. The source alluded to the fact that more than 80% of the employees in the Banking Supervision Department and the Payment System Department had been transferred.”
In a statement, the NEF had voiced concerns about the possible harm that moving those crucial departments could do to the organization and the nation as a whole.
Increased expenses, a loss of skilled labor, operational instability, a lack of coordination, regional economic inequities, hindered economic development in Northern Nigeria, and a decline in investor confidence in the country’s economy are all consequences of the migration.
It stated, “Therefore, moving them entirely to Lagos will only serve to strengthen Lagos’ already dominant position while potentially weakening Abuja’s significance and role.”
“Those who are deceiving the President are not helping him because this will have some political repercussions,” he declared. The governor of CBN would not be in office if Tinubu were not elected president. Tinubu was not elected by the people in Lagos.
Senators and young people from the North also voiced their disapproval of the action, claiming it was a planned attempt to undercut the North.