By Abiola Olawale
The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has reacted to allegations brought up by the Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF) regarding the relocation of important departments from Abuja to Lagos and the recent appointment of directors, dismissing claims of regional bias and emphasizing operational efficiency.
The New Diplomat reports that during an interactive session on government-citizens engagement at Arewa House in Kaduna, ACF Chairperson Bashir Dalhatu had expressed concerns over what he described as “painful decisions” by the federal government.
He alleged that since 1999, northern Nigeria has faced neglect in budget allocations and infrastructural development, particularly in the northeast, where poor road networks persist.
Dalhatu specifically questioned the CBN’s relocation of departments to Lagos and the appointment of 16 new directors, claiming only four are from the northern region.
Dalhatu said: “We are not happy about government officials who make decisions that are painful to us.
“We want to know the reasons for the relocation exercise? Why are the voluntary retirements, and the recent employment of 16 directors, of which only four are from northern Nigeria, by the Central Bank of Nigeria?”
However, in a swift reaction, Mohammed Abdullahi, CBN’s Deputy Governor in charge of the Economic Policy Directorate, clarified that the relocation of departments to Lagos was a strategic move to decongest the bank’s overcrowded Abuja headquarters.
He explained that the action arose out of mass recruitments under the previous administration, which strained office capacity.
Abdullahi emphasized that the relocation was not targeted at any region but aimed at aligning the bank’s structure with its operational objectives and ensuring compliance with building safety standards.
He said: “When we arrived at the central bank, one of the first documents that we looked at was a document that had been submitted countless times to the management by the facility manager of the bank, saying that between 2019 and 2023, the central bank had hired 4,000 people.
“There was a workforce of 5,000 in 2019. By 2023, it was a workforce of over 9,000. Now, what that meant was that we had offices that were fuller than this hall (Arewa House Hall) that we were standing in.
“Conference rooms had been turned into offices, and staff had to retain seats because there was virtually no space. Our insurance providers could not insure the building because key exits and entries for fire had been blocked by desks and chairs, and people had no work to do.
“We did an assessment of the organisation, and we have a huge office in Lagos and different parts in Nigeria, we decided on what we need in the Abuja office and what is required in the Lagos office and the rest of the country and that is how we did the manpower planning and redistributed staff.”
On voluntary retirements, Mr Abdullahi said the CBN has practised early exit in the last 20 years, wherever the management deems that the top is heavy.
“When we came, we had a number of town hall meetings with staff, the junior staff suggested an early exit programme for staff, they came over with a proposal and the early exit was offered for only the people who wanted to take it. It was not done to a particular target of any people. It was an opportunity for people who wanted to do other things in life.
“There were also misconceptions in the news regarding the 16 directors who are from particular parts of the country. That is very far from the truth. A very competitive process was put in place after several rounds of interviews and examinations, and the top emerged.
“Some of the best directors are from this region, (the northern region), I don’t want to mention their names so that I can not put them on the spot, but they are very, very good and they are in large numbers from what has been put out in the news”, Abdullahi added.
