The Central Bank Governor, Olayemi Cardoso, explained that the CBN’s intended relocation of departments and staff to other branches is a measure taken in response to the current “overpopulation” at the headquarters.
Cardoso made this claim on Monday during an interview with Arise Television.
According to the CBN governor, the procedure is typical for any thriving organization such as a central bank.
He said the decision was made to reallocate abilities to guarantee a more equitable regional distribution of talent and to harmonize the bank’s organizational structure with its goals and functions.
Cardodo said, “I think there’s been an attempt to sensationalise what is a normal process for any vibrant entity like a central bank. Bear in mind that, as a national institution, the central bank has a presence in every state of the federation.
“A situation where a large number of technical skills are in one particular location to the detriment of others does not speak well.
“So this has been an attempt to realign that and to ensure that skills are moved from where there’s an overabundance to where there’s a great shortage of those skills. So that’s basically what that is about.
“And with respect to Lagos which you mentioned, from our perspective, it makes a lot of sense that the entities which we are attempting to regulate and need to be on top of that are based in Lagos and they hould have the right skills from the central bank right next to them so they can adequately and effectively do their jobs.”
Cardoso further stated, “It is overpopulated. And with what we are doing right now, we are hoping that will also help in easing the issue of overpopulation, which it is.
“And quite frankly, anybody that comes to the bank and interacts on that level will see that it is. It is overpopulated. And we’ve got to ensure that we can manage potential issues that could fall out from an overpopulated environment.”
A memo earlier issued to staff read, “This is to notify all staff members at the CBN Head Office that we have initiated a decongestion action plan designed to optimise the operational environment of the bank.
“This initiative aims to ensure compliance with building safety standards and enhance the efficient utilisation of our office space.”
Even though the Northern Elders Forum and a few other Northern organizations had opposed the action, the current move has resulted in a decrease in the number of employees at Headquarters from 4,233 to 2,733.
The Banking Supervision, Other Financial Institutions Supervision, Consumer Protection, Payment System Management, and Financial Policy Regulations departments are among those that the CBN reportedly moved.