The Arewa Youth Assembly has made a startling allegation against the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), claiming that the apex bank has secretly employed over 400 staff members to replace the 1,000 who were allegedly coerced into resigning voluntarily.
The assembly, in a statement by its Speaker, Mohammed Salihu Danlami, in Kaduna on Sunday, accused the CBN Governor, Olayemi Cardoso, of masterminding the recruitment exercise, which they claim was not transparent and did not follow due process.
Danlami questioned the rationale behind hiring new staff when the bank had recently downsized, describing the move as a “policy somersault.”
He also expressed concerns that the recruitment process was not transparent, as it did not involve advertising the positions to allow qualified candidates to apply.
He said, “we have intercepted credible reports alleging that the Central Bank of Nigeria under the leadership of Olayemi Cardoso has secretly recruited over 400 staff to replace the over 1,000 who were said to have voluntarily resigned.
“How can a bank that recently shed its weight of excess staff surreptitiously employ 400 others to do what job?” the statement asked.
“We are worried that youths from the 19 states and the Federal Capital Territory, which make up our region, must have been left out, thereby violating the principle of Federal character.”
THE WHISTLER could not independently verify these claims as attempts to speak with the CBN were unsuccessful.
The assembly however alleged that the CBN’s policies under Cardoso’s leadership were designed to impoverish Northern Nigeria, accusing him of being more focused on serving the interests of those in power rather than addressing the economic challenges facing the country.
The group described Cardoso as “the greatest threat to Nigeria’s corporate existence and national unity,” and demanded his immediate resignation to allow for an independent investigation into the recruitment process.
“Instead of Cardoso and his team members dissipating their energy in finding possible ways to bring Nigerians out of the woods that are blamed on their decision to float the Naira, they are addicted to appeasing the interests of those in power and creating windows for jobs to accommodate their wards.
“To avert the deliberate attempt to impoverish the Arewa populace and enslave us in our country, we wish to call for the immediate resignation of Olayemi Cardoso and the top management staff of the apex bank to allow for an independent probe into the nocturnal and highly secretive recruitment that took place in the bank,” the statement said.
The AYA’s Speaker also called on President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to sack Cardoso and his team, and to open a window of genuine healing to unite Nigeria once again.
Danlami announced plans to stage a massive protest against the CBN’s alleged anti-Arewa agenda, calling on youths from the region to join the protest.
The protest, according to him, will commence on a date to be announced this January.
“We wish to call on President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to immediately sack Cardoso and his co-travellers and open a window of genuine healing so as to unite Nigeria once again.
“We wish to call on our religious leaders to use their revered platforms this coming Friday to encourage our youth to join us in the massive protest against the anti-Arewa disposition of Cardoso-led CBN until he throws in the towel,” the statement added.
