CBN Mass Retrenchments Raise Concerns
Nigeria’s House of Representatives has resolved to investigate the circumstances surrounding the reported dismissal of hundreds of employees by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) in recent months. The decision follows rising controversies over what the apex bank has described as an “extensive reform” involving workforce downsizing.
During Wednesday’s plenary session, the lawmakers unanimously adopted a motion by Rep. Jonathan Gaza from Nasarawa State to probe the CBN mass retrenchments. Gaza revealed that close to 600 CBN staff across ranks, including directors and deputy directors, have been affected by the exercise so far.
The legislator stressed the need to ensure meritocracy and sustain strong institutions, pointing to significant concerns among stakeholders like affected employees and labor unions over the handling of the restructuring. The motion was passed without debate for the House Committee on Banking Regulations and Federal Character to investigate the matter thoroughly.
The CBN has not provided detailed official justifications for the sweeping job cuts. However, the downsizing is widely perceived as a strategic shake-up by the new CBN governor appointed in the wake of the policy reforms and foreign exchange management crisis that marked the final months of the Buhari administration.
From that perspective, the parliamentary probe appears to respond to fears that the reductions may have been arbitrary or tainted by ethnic bias allegations that have historically plagued federal institutions. Concerns over compromise of institutional memory and capacity through indiscriminate layoffs of experienced personnel have also been expressed.
For an institution as critical as the CBN, which heavily influences national economic policies and oversees the banking sector, allegations of compromised independence or undue political interference would be deeply concerning. This perhaps explains the House’s urgency in scrutinizing the process.
The investigation provides an opportunity to establish transparency around the CBN’s restructuring rationale and process. If found to be based on objective performance criteria and sustainability requirements, it could reinforce confidence in the bank’s new leadership and reform roadmap.
However, if credible evidence of impropriety, marginalization or overreach emerges, it would deal a significant reputational blow while fueling perceptions of a compromised CBN lacking autonomy and judiciousness. This could have devastating impacts on policy certainty and market stability.
In the interim, the probe seems calibrated to establish accountability while allowing the CBN leadership to make its case for the retrenchments before legislators. How convincingly or defensibly they make that case will determine whether the House’s intervention manages to douse the raging controversies or ignite an even fiercer institutional crisis.
For CBN mass retrenching economic managers and the workforce subjected to the upheaval, there will likely be some tense weeks ahead as this high-stakes investigation by the people’s representatives unfolds. Restoring faith in the critical CBN through this process will be pivotal.
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Reference
Reps investigate mass sacking of CBN staff published in Dailypost