By Obinna Uballa
Nearly two years after receiving employment offers from the Central Bank of Nigeria, more than 60 recruits drawn from across the country say they remain in limbo, awaiting training and posting.
What was initially seen as a career breakthrough for many of the candidates has instead left them jobless, financially strained and emotionally distressed after resigning from their previous jobs in compliance with the bank’s conditions.
One of the affected recruits, Benedict Ali Ojobo from Benue State, who spoke to Punch Newspaper said the offer letter he received on August 28, 2023, was meant to mark the start of a new phase of professional stability and service.
Instead, he told the newspaper that it has become the beginning of a prolonged ordeal.
Ojobo disclosed that accepting the offer required him to sacrifice a major career opportunity at his former workplace.
“I missed a promotion examination to the position of Assistant Director, Pharmaceutical Services, because it coincided with the date fixed for collecting my appointment letter and completing documentation at the CBN headquarters in Abuja,” he said.
According to him, the missed examination meant losing a promotion from Chief Pharmacist to Assistant Director scheduled for October 2023.
After completing the documentation process, Ojobo said he expected to resume work soon after. However, since October 2023, he and many others have received no communication regarding training or posting.
“I have done all documentation and have been awaiting training and posting since October 2023,” he said.
The prolonged delay, he added, has had devastating personal consequences.
Ojobo recalled that his father, a retired primary school teacher who suffered from diabetes and hypertension, had been proud when he learned about the job offer and even accompanied him to Abuja for final medical tests.
However, the elderly man later discovered that months had passed without his son resuming the new job. According to Ojobo, the news triggered a severe shock.
“On hearing that I had not resumed work despite collecting the employment letter, my father suffered a heart attack instantly,” he said.
The retired teacher never recovered from the incident and was buried on May 25, 2025. The tragedy was compounded when a close friend who travelled from Zaria to attend the burial died in a road accident while returning home.
Ojobo said the emotional shock also had a profound impact on his younger sister, Christiana Omeche Ojobo, who had been present when their father collapsed.
“She developed cardiac complications from the shock, leading to prolonged illness and eventually heart surgery,” he said.
The surgery was carried out at the University of Nigeria Teaching Hospital, but she died during the procedure on May 30, 2024.
For Ojobo, the delayed employment opportunity now stands as a painful reminder of a chain of personal losses.
Reflecting on the recruitment process, he said he fulfilled every requirement set by the bank.
“I wrote the aptitude test, attended interviews, passed the medical screening and completed all documentation,” he said.
He added that recruits were also required to receive the COVID-19 vaccine and provide guarantors before their appointments could be finalised.
According to him, successful candidates were instructed to resign from their previous jobs as part of the process.
“We were asked to resign from our former employment, open pension accounts and submit several forms,” he said. “After doing all that, we were never called to resume work.”
Investigations indicate that no fewer than 60 individuals recruited during the apex bank’s June-August 2023 employment exercise are still awaiting posting.
In a letter dated September 20, 2024, addressed to the CBN governor and signed by one of the affected recruits, Auta Godwin, the group outlined the financial and psychological impact of the delay.
“Sir, the financial implications of this delay have been severe,” the letter stated, noting that many had lost their sources of income for more than a year and were struggling to meet basic needs such as rent, food, healthcare and school fees.
Another affected recruit, Francisca Idachaba from Kogi State, described the situation as a state of “psychological limbo”.
Like others, she said she successfully passed the aptitude test, interview and medical screening before receiving an offer letter.
“I completed all the required documentation and resigned from my previous job in good faith,” she said. “But after all that, we were never called to resume work.”
For Pangdul Geoffrey Kunda from Plateau State, the silence from the bank has been emotionally draining.
“The day I received the offer, my family celebrated. But what followed was not progress, it was silence,” he said.
He added that the uncertainty has caused persistent anxiety.
“I existed in emotional suspension, unable to move on to other opportunities yet unsure when or if the job will begin,” he said.
The delay has also affected recruits who left stable employment to accept the offer.
Esther Nuhu, a former staff member of the Federal Mortgage Bank of Nigeria, said she resigned from her position after only four months because the CBN offer required it.
“I complied in good faith, but I was never posted,” she said.
A development expert, Musa Abdullahi, called on the Federal Government to intervene, saying the prolonged delay had caused unnecessary hardship.
“Government should either absorb them into the system or compensate them so they can rebuild their lives,” he said.
Efforts to obtain an official response from the CBN were unsuccessful, as calls and messages to the bank’s spokesperson, Hakama Sidi-Ali, had not been answered at the time of filing this report.
