Nwoko Wants Senate to Probe Sack of 317 CBN Workers

By Towncriernews 

The Senator, representing Delta North senatorial district in the Red Chambers of the National Assembly, Prince Ned Nwoko (PDP), has criticised the recent sack of 317 workers of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), and urged the Senate to investigate the purge.

Nwoko who spoke on Tuesday to Journalists, in Abuja, noted that the sack was “too hasty”, hence the need to probe the circumstances around it.

He alleged that the apex bank did not consult with relevant stakeholders, including labour unions, before the exercise.

“The Senate should mandate its committees on Employment, Labour and Productivity, as well as that of Public Service Matters, to investigate the terminations.

“The committees should focus on the rationale behind the action, compliance with labour laws, and the broader socio-economic impact of the exercise,” he said.

According to him, “Between March 15 and April 11, 2024, the CBN sacked 117 staff members.

“On May 24, the CBN sacked an additional 200 staff members, bringing the total number to 317.

“From my finding, those mostly affected were directors, deputy directors, assistant directors, principal managers, senior managers and some staff at the lower cadre.

“The letters issued to the affected staff, including one dated May 24, from the Human Resources Department, cited the need to reorganise the organisation for effective operations, as the reason for the sack.

“The letter had no further details. It did not offer specific reasons for the dismissal of each staff member.”

Nwoko expressed fears that the principles of fairness and justice might have been compromised in the exercise, and opined that the “sudden termination will hurt the economic stability of the workers’ families”.

Efforts to obtain reaction from CBN authorities Sen. Nwoko’s claims proved abortive, however, a source from the apex bank who pleading anonymity as he was not authorised to speak, confirmed that some workers of the bankers’ Bank were recently laid off, but declined further details.