Major Shakeup As CBN Redeploys Top Officials

Nigeria’s apex bank, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), has reportedly begun internal cleanup with the discreet redeployment of top officials.

According to The Guardian, the CBN Governor, Olayemi Cardoso, has taken ownership of ‘housecleaning’ and commenced a broad staff audit to redeploy personnel not considered suitable for their role in line with the bank’s new direction.

It was gathered that eight directors were moved to the Financial Sector Surveillance (FSS) Department in the Maitama office.

While the motives behind the redeployments are unknown, there are palpable fears that more people could be affected by the redeployment.

The identities of those sent to the Maitama office are not known except for Philip Yusuf Yila, who served as the Director of the Development Finance Department (DFD) of the CBN under Godwin Emefiele.

Yila superintended the DFD that played a crucial role in supporting businesses through increased access to finance for priority sectors under a variety of programmes such as the Anchor Borrowers’ Programme (ABP), the Agri-Business/Small and Medium Enterprises Investment Scheme (AGSMEIS) and the Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises Development Fund (MSMEDF).

He also handled disbursement to households and small businesses during the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic to cushion the impact of the consequent lockdown.

The Director of Corporate Communications, Dr Isa Abdulmumin, has also been redeployed while Sidi Ali Hakama takes over in an acting capacity.

This comes as there are also indications that the CBN may have been pushing for the review of the CBN Act as well as the Banks and Other Financial Institutions Act (BOFIA) to strip it of prudential regulations.