House of reps to probe ‘mass retrenchment’ of CBN workers

The House of Representatives has passed a resolution to investigate the mass retrenchment in the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).

The motion was passed at an emergency session on Wednesday to commemorate 25 years of Nigeria’s unbroken democracy since May 1999.

A member of the House, Jonathan Gaza (SDP, Nasarawa) “worried that this retrenchment without any fair hearing in the last few years without any fair hearings or panels or criteria spelt out could cause the nation a lot in settlement. Terminating appointments arbitrarily will amount to killing the morale of junior staff not knowing what their fate would be”.

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The House thereafter mandated the committee the Committee on Banking Regulations to look into the reforms of the apex bank that warranted the CBN to downsize its staff strength.

The Olayemi Cardoso-led CBN had also in January moved some departments of the apex bank from Abuja to Lagos to increase operational efficiency and reduce operating costs.

Also, the House was divided over the use of mercenaries to combat terrorism and kidnapping in parts of Nigeria.

Some lawmakers feared that it would breed more insecurity while others believed it would complement the actions of security agencies. The amendment was eventually stepped down.