CBN’s Staff Expenses Skyrocket to N306.63bn Amid Workforce Restructuring

ABEOKUTA,OGUN STATE – The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has revealed a staggering surge in its staff-related expenses, reaching N306.63 billion in 2024. This represents an astronomical 700% increase compared to the N37.7 billion spent in the preceding year, as detailed in the apex bank’s recently released 2024 financial statement.

A significant portion of this expenditure is attributed to the CBN’s “Early Exit Programme” (EEP), under which over 1,000 employees voluntarily resigned. The program, designed to streamline the bank’s operations and align its workforce with evolving needs, offered substantial financial incentives to eligible staff, particularly those in senior to deputy management roles. Payouts for these employees could extend up to 60 months of their current gross annual emoluments.

This development follows earlier sweeping changes within the CBN, including the dismissal of at least 317 employees and the reassignment of approximately 1,500 others as part of a broader internal restructuring spearheaded by the current CBN Governor, Olayemi Cardoso. While the financial statement does not specify the exact number of employees who participated in the EEP or the precise amounts disbursed to those previously affected by the restructuring, it confirms that these payments are included in the N306.63 billion personnel expense.

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Further scrutiny of the CBN’s financial data reveals a general upward trajectory in various staff-related cost categories:

• Staff Allowances: Climbed to N191.9 billion from N168.6 billion.
• Defined Benefit Plan Expenses: Increased significantly by 49% to N36.5 billion.
• Wages and Salaries: Showed a modest rise to N55.6 billion from N47 billion.
• Pension Contributions (Defined Contribution Plan): Saw a slight uptick from N17.3 billion to N17.7 billion.
  Notably, the N306.63 billion expenditure on personnel constitutes over half of the CBN’s total operating expenses for the year, underscoring the significant financial impact of the workforce restructuring initiatives.
  The CBN management has previously stated that the EEP was a voluntary measure aimed at providing employees seeking alternative career paths with an opportunity for early exit while optimizing the bank’s overall efficiency, especially in the context of increasing digitization within the financial sector.
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  Financial analysts are closely examining the implications of this substantial increase in personnel costs on the CBN’s operational efficiency and overall financial health.
• Reports from Punch Newspapers and Sahara Reporters have also highlighted this significant financial development within the apex bank.
  The full impact of these workforce changes and the associated costs on the CBN’s future operations and its role in Nigeria’s economy remains a subject of ongoing scrutiny and analysis.