The Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Mr. Olayemi Cardoso, has clarified that the 1,000 former employees who left the apex bank in December last year did so voluntarily and were paid their full benefits.
Cardoso made this known during an investigative hearing organized by the House of Representatives on Friday.
The hearing was convened to probe the disengagement of the former staff and the ₦50 billion paid as terminal benefits.
Representing the CBN governor at the session, Mr. Bala Bello, Deputy Director of Corporate Services, emphasized that the affected staff were neither forced nor disengaged arbitrarily.
He explained that the bank’s early exit program was entirely voluntary and part of a broader effort to reorganize the institution for improved service delivery.
“These are ways and means through which the performance of an organization is optimized by ensuring that round pegs are put in round holes,” Bello said.
“The manpower requirement of the bank is met, balancing human resource, capital, skill, and IT requirements.”
Bello assured the committee that the program was designed to be fully voluntary and in line with global best practices.
“You are very much aware, chairman, that the entire world is going through a process of digitizing its operations. And then once that is done, a lot of opportunities are created, just like a lot of redundancies are also equally created,” he said.
He added, “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. It’s not mandatory. Nobody has been asked to leave, and nobody has been forced to leave. It’s a completely voluntary program that has been put in place.”
