Again, CBN sacks over 300 staff

More than 300 employees of the Central of Nigeria (CBN) have been sacked between Thursday and Friday, those directly affected told the Daily Trust Saturday yesterday.

It was learnt that the engagement letters of additional 200 have been signed, and would be issued to the affected staff in the coming days.

Virtually all those working in the Governor’s Directorate have been sacked, it was learnt.

The latest move, which brings the total number of affected staff to nearly 600, adds to the long list of ongoing disengagements in the apex bank.

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Daily Trust findings revealed that at least 9 of the 17 surviving directors from the era of the erstwhile CBN Governor, Godwin Emefiele, were affected in the latest retrenchment exercise.

The affected directors include:  Dr Mahmud Hassan, Director, Trade & Exchange; Dr Ozoemena S. Nnaji, Director, Statistics. Chibuike D. Nwaegerue, Director, Other Financial Institutions Supervision; Chibuzo A. Efobi, Director, Payments System Management; Haruna Bala Mustafa, Director, Financial Policy and Regulation; Rakiya Shuaibu Mohammed, Director, Information Technology and Benjamin Nnadi, Director, Reserve Management.

The directors that were spared are Rashida Jumoke Monguno, Director, Corporate Secretariat; Salam-Alada Sirajuddin Kofo, Director, Legal Services; Aderinola Shonekan, Director, Research; Dr Blaise Ijebor, Director, Risk Management; Jimoh Musa Itopa, Director, Capacity Development; Rabiu Musa, Director, Finance; Lydia Ifeanyichukwu Alfa, Director, Internal Audit; Dr Omolara Duke, Director, Financial Markets and  Muhammad Abba, Director, Human Resources were confirmed to have been spared.

Daily Trust learnt that Clement Oluranti Buari, Director, Strategy Management retired on May 5th. However, his name is still reflecting as a director as at the time of this report.

 The latest mass sack cuts across 29 departments, affecting all cadres from directors to deputy directors, assistant directors, principal managers, senior managers and lower ranking staff  like executive trainees.

Daily Trust also gathered that the bulk of staff affected were branch operations staff across the 36 branches, each in the 36 states of the federation and the headquarters in FCT.

It was learnt that some of those who were earlier transferred from the headquarters to the branches were affected by the latest action, as they received their disengagement letters through emails.

In the Financial Policy and Regulatory Department, the director and three deputy directors were affected, alongside some other junior staff, we reliably learnt.

Daily Trust also learnt that about eight staff were affected in the Trade and Exchange Department.  Four other persons were affected from the Development Finance Department and another 10 deputy and assistant directors from the Human Resource Department.

Employees who were on compassionate leave for protracted illness or incapacitation were also affected.  

According to our sources, following the latest sack, the 29 departments of the bank are currently headed by coordinators.

The dispatch of the disengagement letters, which started on March 15, has persisted, causing apprehension amongst staff of every cadre as the management has not specified any standard criteria for the decisions, insiders told our reporter. 

Some of the staff who spoke to our reporter said: “The idea of job security is no longer tenable under the current management of the bank.

“They have held a series of meetings to say they are not witch-hunting anybody, but what bigger witch-hunt is there than truncating people’s career without any tangible explanation?

“There is no empirical basis for these actions other than just an empty mantra about a reset,” one of those who spoke to our reporter said.

Another disengaged staff said: “I can tell you that since information leaked about the intention of this management, the morale at the bank has been at an all-time low“.

What CBN’s policies and procedures manual says

Section 16.0 of the CBN’s Human Resources Policies and Procedures Manual (HRPPM) titled  ‘Cessation of Employment’, specifies that in every case of separation from the employment of the bank, it is the objective of CBN to make separations as amicable as possible for both the employee and the bank.

Section 16.3.5 notes that an employee’s Normal Retirement Date in CBN should coincide with the date the employee is 60 years old, or has put in 35 years of service.

“Early retirement can be considered when the employee has served for at least 10 years, and is only granted at the discretion of management,” it said.

According to the manual, the bank feels that the retirement of an employee should be an occasion for celebration and for recognition of the individual’s contributions to the bank.

However, Section 16.4, which specifies the condition for redundancy, stipulates that redundancy means involuntary and permanent loss of employment as a result of excess human resource.

It explained that the redundancy processes are designed to provide a framework to manage change, where that change involves termination of employment.

“Adversely affected employees are given the opportunity for early separation from the bank.

“Consultation with the Joint Consultative Council is essential, and a fair process is mandatory.  Employees who are adversely affected may appeal decisions made by the head, human resources,” it said.

The manual said that the grounds for redundancy require that employment may be terminated for economic, technological, structural or similar reasons.

Attempts to get the reaction of the acting Director of Corporate Communication, Hakama Sidi Ali, yesterday, was not successful as she did not pick her call or return a text message sent to her line.

Editor’s Note: This story has been updated following fresh findings about the status of some directors who were initially captured as sacked rather than retired. Also updated is the list of  other Directors  who were not affected by the exercise.