The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) is preparing for a significant workforce restructuring under Governor Olayemi Cardoso.
Aimed at streamlining operations, the initiative includes the voluntary Early Exit Package, open to staff across all ranks except those with less than one year of service or unconfirmed employees as of December 7, 2024.
Over 1,000 staff are expected to retire, with 860 already indicating interest. The effective exit date is December 31, 2024.
Already, the CBN has allocated over ₦50 billion in payouts and the financial incentives are based on grades.
Senior supervisors to deputy managers are to get up to 60 months’ gross emoluments.
Managers would get up to 36 months of gross emoluments, while other cadres would get up to 18 months.
The applications are final and irreversible and the process is said to be targeted primarily at employees hired during the tenure of former Governor Godwin Emefiele.
While the policy offers substantial severance packages (ranging between ₦64.5 million to ₦97 million for some staff), apprehension among employees remains high due to uncertainty and its implications on career stability.
CBN has not issued an official statement on the development, and its Director of Corporate Communications, Hakama Sidi Ali, has refrained from comments.
Meanwhile, renowned economist and Managing Director of Financial Derivatives, Bismarck Rewane, has predicted that the recent directive from the CBN requiring International Oil Companies to sell foreign exchange on the official market will boost the naira.
Rewane made the statement during his presentation at a monthly breakfast meeting in Lagos, titled “Nigerian Economy on the Brink: Adapt or Collapse?”.
He also emphasized the need for an increase in telecommunications tariffs and price deregulation to reverse the stagnation in the sector.
