Cardoso fired 25 of 29 directors he met at CBN – Sources

Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Olayemi Cardoso, sacked 25 of the 29 directors he inherited, Daily Trust has learnt.

The other four of them recently retired on attaining the statutory retirement age of 60.

Those directors were heading various strategic departments under the directorates of the bank.

The CBN directors still in service are Rashida Jumoke Monguno, Corporate Secretariat; Aderinola Shonekan, Research, Omolara Duke, Financial Markets; Jimoh Musa Itopa; Capacity Development; Muhammad Abba, Human Resources; Rabiu Musa, Finance; Sirajuddin Kofo Salam-Alada, Legal Services; Blaise Ijebor, Risk Management and Lydia I. Alfa, Internal Audit.

Senior officials at the CBN told our reporter that the management had concluded plans to recruit new directors from outside the apex bank.

One of them said: “Why are the departments still being manned by departmental coordinators more than three months after the sack of the substantive directors?”

“Since his (Cardoso’s) appointment, no director has been appointed. He has kept all vacant departments under the leadership of acting directors,” another source said.

Since March this year, the CBN has dismissed over 600 staff.

On May 24 alone, over 300 staff were laid off; about the third time the apex bank disengaged some of its staff. Between March 15 and April 11, 2024, over 117 staff were sacked for what was described as efforts to reorganise the bank.

Below is a list of some of the directors affected by Cardoso’s storm at the apex bank:

• 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