The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has strongly denied allegations that its 2024 Early Exit Package was a scheme to target or destabilize Northerners within the apex bank. Muhammad Abdullahi, the CBN’s Deputy Governor on Economic Policy, reiterated on Wednesday that the program was entirely voluntary and driven by the need to decongest the bank’s crowded Abuja headquarters.
Speaking at a two-day Interactive Session on Government-Citizens Engagement organized by the Sir Ahmadu Bello Memorial Foundation in Kaduna, Abdullahi explained that the CBN headquarters in Abuja had become severely congested, with limited space and even exit routes converted into offices, raising health and safety concerns for staff.
“The bank was so crowded at the headquarters and jam-packed that there was no space; the limited space and exit routes in the building were converted to offices, and hence not healthy for the workers,” Abdullahi stated. He added that an insurance company had even raised “serious concerns about securing the building with its insurance policy” due to the cramped conditions, necessitating decongestion.
Abdullahi clarified that the CBN has ample office spaces in Lagos, Kaduna, and other locations capable of absorbing a significant number of staff from the headquarters. He noted that some staff members relocated to Lagos and Kaduna are now “so happy that they don’t even want to come back to Abuja,” emphasizing, “It is not an agenda against anybody.”
He further highlighted that the apex bank has a 20-year history of implementing early exit programs whenever the top management structure becomes “very heavy.” In such instances, a committee comprising staff members is formed to propose an offer, which remains “voluntary, not forced on anyone.”
“Some workers were very happy to take the exit offer and establish a microfinance bank. So, it is an opportunity for those who want to move ahead and do other things with their lives,” Abdullahi explained.
Addressing what he termed “misinformation and a wrong narrative about 16 directors” being targeted, Abdullahi asserted, “Let me state here that there are a lot of directors who are from the Northern Region and are currently working in the bank.” He urged the public to disregard “unpatriotic elements that spread fake news to misguide and incite the masses.”
As an example of the program’s non-discriminatory nature, Abdullahi revealed, “The son of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation was moved out of Abuja to Lagos. Nobody was spared. It is a policy of the bank. People should please understand all these.”
