The Governor Central Bank of Nigeria, Olayemi Cardoso, has clarified that the 1,000 staff members disengaged in December 2024 voluntarily chose to leave, stating that no one was forced to quit.
Cardoso, made this statement on Friday in Abuja at a hearing by the House of Representatives ad-hoc committee investigating the circumstances of the staff exit and the N50bn severance package.
Cardoso explained that the employees opted for the bank’s Early Exit Program, which offered full benefits.
Cardoso, represented by Deputy Director of Corporate Services Bala Bello, said the Early Exit Program, alongside restructuring and reorganisation efforts, aims to optimise the performance of the bank by aligning its workforce with its operational needs.
He added that the program is part of a broader global trend towards digital transformation, which creates both new opportunities and redundancies.
“This is a completely voluntary programme that has been put in place,” Cardoso confirmed, stressing that no one was forced to leave.
“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 also noted that such voluntary exit programs are not unique to the CBN but are being implemented globally across both public and private sectors.
The Deputy Director further explained that such programs help address issues like career stagnation, which can arise when there is an imbalance in organizational structures.
He highlighted the need for a balanced workforce and noted that as vacancies fill, some employees may face stagnation due to a lack of available positions at higher levels.
Earlier in the session, the Chairman of the ad-hoc committee, Bello Kumo, clarified that the committee’s role was to investigate the restructuring, reorganisation, and the Early Exit Programme.
He requested further clarification on the goals, timelines, and details of the program.
