Redeployed CBN staff set to resume work in Lagos this Friday despite northern protests

ABOUT 15,000 members of staff of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) will resume work this Friday at its Lagos office following their recent redeployment from Abuja by President Bola Tinubu.

Earlier this month, President Tinubu some CBN staff to Lagos, in a move that sparked off a lot of controversy, as northern groups in particular, kicked against the development. Despite the criticism, the government is proceeding with the plan and the affected staff and going to resume at their new duty posts this week.

This decision to relocate some of CBN’s departments to Lagos, the country’s economic hub was taken considering the need for staff safety, increased productivity and to decongest its Abuja head office. CBN said the action was necessitated by several factors, including the need to align the bank’s structure with its functions and objectives and redistribute skills to ensure a more even geographical spread of talent.

It added that it was also in compliance with building regulations, as indicated by repeated warnings from the facility manager and the findings and recommendations of its committee on decongestion. Departments pencilled down for relocation include banking supervision, other financial institutions supervision, consumer protection, payment system management and financial policy regulations.

Although the Northern Elders Forum (Nef) and some other socio-cultural groups have condemned the move, the CBN governor said he remains committed to implementing it, as it is expected to reduce the occupancy level at the Abuja headquarters to 2,733 from 4,233 personnel. Apparently, the affected staff have already begun relocating to Lagos.

One CBN source said: “Some have already gone ahead. Over 80% of the banking supervision department staff have been redeployed and the same for the payment system department.”

Bitterly opposed to the move, the Nef expressed concern over the potential negative impact of relocating those essential departments on both the CBN itself and the country as a whole. Also, the chief whip of the senate, Senator Ali Ndume, warned that there would be political consequences if the plan to relocate some departments of CBN as well as the corporate headquarters of Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria to Lagos were implemented.