Cardoso Sacked 25 Out Of 29 CBN Directors After Firing About 600 Staff (See Names)

Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Olayemi Cardoso, has dismissed 25 of the 29 directors he inherited.

The remaining four directors recently retired upon reaching the statutory retirement age of 60, Daily Trust report reveals. These directors led various strategic departments within the bank.

The current CBN directors in service are:

– Rashida Jumoke Monguno, Corporate Secretariat
– Aderinola Shonekan, Research
– Omolara Duke, Financial Markets
– Jimoh Musa Itopa, Capacity Development
– Muhammad Abba, Human Resources
– Rabiu Musa, Finance
– Sirajuddin Kofo Salam-Alada, Legal Services
– Blaise Ijebor, Risk Management
– Lydia I. Alfa, Internal Audit

Senior officials at the CBN disclosed that plans are underway to recruit new directors from outside the apex bank. One official questioned the delay: “Why are the departments still being manned by departmental coordinators more than three months after the sack of the substantive directors?” Another source noted, “Since his (Cardoso’s) appointment, no director has been appointed. He has kept all vacant departments under the leadership of acting directors.”

Since March, the CBN has dismissed over 600 staff members. On May 24 alone, over 300 staff were laid off, marking the third round of dismissals. Between March 15 and April 11, 2024, over 117 staff were dismissed as part of efforts to reorganize the bank.

The following directors were among those affected by Cardoso’s restructuring:

– Dr. Blaise Ijebor, Director, Risk Management
– Dr. Mahmud Hassan, Director, Trade & Exchange
– Dr. Ozoemena S. Nnaji, Director, Statistics
– Chibuike D. Nwaegerue, Director, Other Financial Institutions Supervision
– Chibuzo A. Efobi, Director, Payments System Management
– Haruna Bala Mustafa, Director, Financial Policy and Regulation
– Rakiya Shuaibu Mohammed, Director, Information Technology
– Benjamin Nnadi, Director, Reserve Management