Northern elders react as plan to move key CBN departments to Lagos thickens

The Northern Elders Forum (NEF) has reacted to a fresh plan to move key departments of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) from Abuja to Lagos State.

Recall that the CBN, in an internal memo seen on Sunday, said it was moving some of its departments to Lagos.

The move, according to a CBN source, is to decongest the apex bank’s head office.

But I n a statement on Thursday, the director of publicity and advocacy of NEF, Abdul-Azeez Suleiman, noted that the relocation of the bank would result in increased cost, reduced coordination, regional economic disparities, impaired economic development in northern Nigeria, among others.

If allowed to happen, NEF believes that the development may lead to brain drain and also cause a strain and disruption on the bank’s performance and efficiency.

The statement partly reads: “It would require significant financial investment as the CBN would need to allocate funds for setting up new offices, purchasing or leasing properties, relocating employees, and other infrastructural requirements.

“This would strain the CBN’s budget and divert resources away from other essential functions and initiatives.

“Moving key departments to Lagos may lead to a loss of skilled employees who are unable or unwilling to relocate. This brain drain could negatively impact the CBN’s performance and efficiency.

“Relocation would lead to a temporary disruption in the CBN’s operations.

“Employees would need time to adjust to their new surroundings, potentially causing delays in decision-making and implementation.”