No fewer than 60 persons who were recently employed as staff of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) have cried out over the delay in their posting and onboarding into various positions since August 2023.
The affected workers made this known while briefing journalists at the secretariat of the Correspondents Chapel of the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ) in Bauchi.
According to them, the CBN had officially offered them employment, which they accepted and followed with all necessary documentation. They also stated that they were instructed to resign from their previous jobs as part of the employment process with the Apex Bank.
One of the affected employees, Emmanuel Linus Dabo, who spoke on behalf of others, explained that they complied fully with the CBN’s requirements after receiving their offer letters. “We were told to resign from our former places of work as part of the documentation process, which we all did,” he said.
Dabo narrated that the application process began in April 2023 when they submitted their resumé to the CBN Headquarters. After some time, they received mails from the Human Resources Department inviting them for an interview and aptitude test.
He appealed to the CBN Governor, President Bola Tinubu, and other relevant authorities to intervene in their situation, noting that the delay has caused serious financial and emotional hardship. “We are pleading with the CBN and President Bola Tinubu to look into our plight and reinstate us to our jobs. The economic hardship has taken a toll on us since we left our previous employment,” he said.
Dabo also revealed that they went through all necessary steps, including medical examinations, before the process was suspended without explanation. “We did a medical examination at the Bank’s medical clinic, where a code was given to each applicant before accessing the hospital. After the interview, medical and aptitude test, the successful applicants were contacted by the HR manager to come over to the CBN Headquarters in Abuja to pick up our offer letters. We filled the acceptance without delay,” he said.
He further stated that they received several emails from the Human Resources office requesting them to forward their credentials and resignation letters from their former employers for online documentation. However, he said that after completing all these steps, there was no further communication from the Bank.
“After a long period of time, there was no further communication from the CBN after becoming jobless, but we were optimistic of being deployed to their various offices while believing that the change of government at the Apex Bank must have affected the process,” he added.
A copy of the employment letter obtained by our correspondent indicated that it was a ‘Provisional Offer of Appointment’ for a probationary period of one year, with confirmation dependent on a satisfactory report.
The group also presented copies of acknowledged letters of reminder sent to the new CBN Governor in September 2023, November 2024, and January 2025, but said they have not received any official response.
“As I am talking to you, many of our colleagues have come down with depression. In fact, we just contributed N3,000 to some of them in the hospital. Many of us cannot afford to pay our rent anymore, we can’t pay our bills, and have withdrawn our children from their schools. Some of us studied abroad, decided to return, and contribute to our country. We are pleading, the situation is worsening,” Dabo said.
Efforts to get a reaction from the Bauchi Branch of the CBN failed as an official who preferred not to be named directed our correspondent to the CBN Headquarters in Abuja.
