The recent announcement by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to relocate key departments to its Lagos office has generated mixed reactions, with some workers at the apex bank reportedly expressing dissatisfaction about the move.
Responding to the reported disquiet among the staff, former Deputy Governor of the CBN, Kingsley Moghalu, has expressed support for the relocation. He highlighted that the Lagos office, inaugurated during his tenure 12 years ago, has remained underutilized. Moghalu explained that the move is a logical solution to address overstaffing concerns at the Abuja headquarters.
In a social media post, Moghalu stated, “I don’t see any serious basis for such ‘disquiet.’ A new Lagos Office for the Bank was completed and inaugurated about 12 years ago while I was at the Bank. As far as I can remember, it was under-utilized. Meanwhile, the numbers of staff in the Abuja HQ are vastly over the health and safety limits of the building. Moreover, the market entities supervised by the Departments that will move to Lagos are mostly in Lagos. So what’s the problem? Seems a rational decision to me.”
The CBN’s circular, issued on January 12th, outlined plans to decongest its Abuja headquarters due to exceeding occupancy levels and health and safety concerns. The bank intends to relocate 1,533 staff to other facilities in Abuja, Lagos, and understaffed branches. Despite the rationale provided, concerns have been raised among some CBN workers about the potential implications of the relocation, with fears that it might render the Abuja office “useless.”
