The current management of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) fired a total of 50 staff on Monday, April 8.
This brings the total number of people let go to 117 since Olayemi Cardoso became CBN governor.
The terminations affected various levels of staff, including directors, deputy directors, assistant directors, principal managers, senior managers, and lower-ranking employees.
The process of sending out termination letters began on March 15 and has been ongoing every other week, causing anxiety among all staff members as the management has not provided clear criteria for the decisions, according to insiders.
Since the firings began, CBN officials have chosen not to comment on the situation.
Efforts to reach the acting Director of Corporate Communication, Hakama Sidi Ali, were unsuccessful as she did not answer her phone or respond to text messages.
A senior management source, who cannot speak on the matter, informed our reporter that the firing of employees will continue until the end of April.
Employees impacted by the recent layoffs expressed frustration due to the lack of clarity or explanation for their termination, leading them to believe they are victims of personal grudges by Cardoso and the deputy governors.
Many affected employees, particularly those interviewed by our correspondent, are upset about the perceived “unfair application of the company’s policies by the current management.”
The termination letters sent to the directors and some of the affected staff, as observed by our reporter, mentioned “Reorganizational and human capital restructuring” as the reason for their dismissal, in alignment with the bank’s new strategic direction.
It was reported that five directors are prepared to challenge their termination, as they believe no wrongdoing has been attributed to them and they have not been involved in any misconduct.
Several employees of the central bank who spoke with our reporter expressed living in constant fear as they are uncertain about who will be affected next.
One of the staff said: “We have seen indiscriminate sacking in procurement, development finance and the medical services department. What it means is that other departments will follow soon.
“I am worried that they will come for all those that worked closely with the sacked directors. The apprehension is not good for productivity and it is also bad for the system,” he said.
Another senior staff member said: “A lot of people who received their sack letter just kept quiet and left their various offices. They feel helpless by the way the system is structured.”
