The world is at the threshold of another yuletide; a season of love. A season of festivities 2hen Christians mark the birth of Jesus Christ.
For many staff members of the Central Bank of Nigeria, there may not be much to celebrate.
This is because, barring any last minute change of mind by the top management of the apex bank, 1000 staff members will be asked to go home before year end. They will be retired in what may qualify as the biggest payoff in the bank’s history, attracting a staggering N50billion payoff cheque, according to an exclusive report by Daily Trust.
The purge, according to the highly influential newspaper, is part of a strategic realignment of workforce by the CBN’s Board of Governors, led by Mr. Olayemi Cardoso.
The Cardoso-led board has never left anyone in doubt about its inclination towards drastic staff reduction.
In the report, Daily Trust recalls that in the last 10 months, the CBN has disengaged many of its staffers, including 17 directors, who served under the immediate past governor, Mr. Godwin Emefiele, who is currently facing money laundering and corruption charges in court.
And those 17 directors are yet to be replaced, the newspaper said.
Meanwhile, a circular released three weeks ago by the CBN, sighted on Sunday by the Daily Trust reporter, revealed that the application for Early Exit Package (EPP), which was open to all cadres of staff, will close by Saturday, December 7, 2024.
Exempted are those yet to be confirmed or who have served less than one year “as of the date of publication with the effective date of exit set at 31 December, 2024.”
Daily Trust quoted officials as saying that the apex bank was targeting over 1,000 staff members for retirement.
The officials, who pleaded anonymity, told the Daily Trust correspondent that at least 860 staff from the various departments have already applied for the EPP.
The management described the EEP as a voluntary programme offering eligible employees an incentive to exit the CBN early, “while providing employees seeking other career options a great opportunity for early exit.”
However, it warned that the staff members could not change their minds after applying, saying that all completed and submitted applications are final.
The EEP stated that financial incentives for senior supervisors to deputy managers shall be for the remaining period in service, up to a maximum of 60 months of current grade’s gross annual emoluments.
It also noted that financial incentives for managers shall be for the remaining period in service, up to a maximum of 36 months of current grade’s gross annual emoluments.
“Financial incentives for all other cadres of staff shall be for the remaining period in service, up to a maximum of 18 months of current grade gross annual emoluments,” it added.
The EEP also provides for non-financial incentives, including “financial planning and entrepreneurial capacity building programme, purchase of laptops in line with the Bank’s current policy and extended medical care for an additional three months for self and dependents after the expiration of the three-month current provision of access to medical windows care by exited employees.”
‘They’re offering me N97m for 4-yr service’
A staff member, who spoke to our reporter, said: “The way they dated the offer, you’ll know that the target is actually from senior supervisors to deputy managers. If you look at it, they’re mostly those that came in within the 9 years of Governor Emefiele.
“For instance, I’ve worked for 4 years in the bank; the package they’re giving me is between N92 million to N97 million.
“Some others have worked up to a manager level and are only entitled to N64.5 million. So, the more time you have to go, the more money they pay you because you know, for them, you don’t have gratuity”, the staff said.
Another staff told Daily Trust Sunday that during a webinar held last Friday, the Human Resource Department of the bank expressed the apex bank’s decision to get the number it was targeting for the EEP.
“There is serious tension, serious apprehension. You can imagine the atmosphere. It is terrible.
“As of Friday, there were 860 people so far that have indicated interest in the EEP,” the staff member said.
17 sacked directors yet to be replaced
The 17 directors sacked 10 months ago and those who retired then are yet to be replaced.
Information on the CBN’s website yesterday showed that each of the 13 departments is headed by a coordinator.
A circular for replacement specified that deputy directors who have two years or less to retire are not eligible for consideration, and that each applicant must apply for only one of the positions listed as multiple applications may lead to disqualification.
Daily Trust’s investigations revealed that following the outcry that greeted the perceived bias against serving deputy directors, some of them were allegedly invited to apply for the vacant positions.
A senior staff stated that: “As it is, most of those who should qualify were affected alongside the sacked directors.”
Some of the sacked directors had, four weeks ago, approached an Abuja division of the National Industrial Court of Nigeria for an interlocutory injunction to restrain the CBN from replacing them, saying their employments were “unlawfully terminated without a valid reason.”
CBN keeps silent
When contacted by Daily Trust for comments on the decision to send about 1,000 staff on early retirement, the CBN’s Director of Corporate Communication, Hakama Sidi Ali, neither answered calls nor replied to a text message sent to her.
What CBN’s policies and procedures manual says
Section 16.0 of the CBN’s Human Resources Policies and Procedures Manual (HRPPM) titled ‘Cessation of Employment’, specifies that in every case of separation from the employment of the bank, it is the objective of CBN to make separations as amicable as possible for both the employee and the bank.
Section 16.3.5 notes that an employee’s Normal Retirement Date in CBN should coincide with the date the employee is 60 years old or has put in 35 years of service.
“Early retirement can be considered when the employee has served for at least 10 years, and is only granted at the discretion of management,” it said.
According to the manual, the CBN feels that the retirement of an employee should be an occasion for celebration and for recognition of the individual’s contributions to the bank.
However, Section 16.4, which specifies the condition for redundancy, stipulates that redundancy means involuntary and permanent loss of employment as a result of excess human resource.
It said that the redundancy processes are designed to provide a framework to manage change, where that change involves termination of employment.
“Adversely affected employees are given the opportunity for early separation from the bank,” it said.
“Consultation with the Joint Consultative Council is essential, and a fair process is mandatory. Employees who are adversely affected may appeal decisions made by the head, human resources.”
The manual said the grounds for redundancy require that employment may be terminated for economic, technological, structural or similar reasons.
