Cardoso’s CBN sacks directors, Emefiele’s 'boys' affected

Current governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Olayemi Cardoso, has begun a gradual cleansing at the top bank, which can be noticed by the departure of some directors.

According to a source who spoke under anonymity, the dismissal was not so much a retirement, but an outright firing.

The top bank cleansing which commenced on Friday, March 15, 2024, has terrified employees as they are not sure of who will be fired next.

The source said: “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 impacted is not known, insiders speculate that the disengagement is probably happening in waves.

Based on earlier estimates, this week is expected to see the mandatory retirement of at least eight bank directors.

Recall that late last year, Cardoso moved a lot of the directors to the bank's FSS 2020 unit, which is overseen by the governor but has its headquarters in one of Abuja's affluent neighbourhoods, the Maitama District.

In addition, the CBN moved over a thousand employees to its Lagos headquarters, saying that it was necessary to realign the bank's organisational structure with its goals and functions and to reallocate capabilities to guarantee a more equitable distribution of talent across geographies.

According to CBN officials, the daring move that drew harsh criticism was also intended to decongest the organisation's head office by building codes, as demonstrated by the facility manager's repeated warnings and the conclusions and suggestions of the Committee on Decongestion of the CBN Head Quarters.

A memo issued to the redeployed staff at the time read: “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.”