The Central Bank of Nigeria is set to transfer some of its departments to the nation’s first capital territory and the country’s economic hub, Lagos State.

This was stated in an internal memo available to Sunday PUNCH on Saturday.

The move according to an official of the apex bank who did not want to be named, is to decongest the apex bank’s head office located in the Federal Capital Territory.

Although some staff of the bank have reportedly resisted the transfer and claimed that it was motivated by tribal sentiment, the source claimed that it was for ‘staff safety and increased productivity’.

This action is necessitated by several factors, including the need to align the Bank’s structure with its functions and objectives, redistribute skills to ensure a more even geographical spread of talent, and comply with building regulations, as indicated by repeated warnings from the Facility Manager, and the findings and recommendations of the Committee on Decongestion of the CBN Head Office.

The action plan focuses on optimizing the utilization of other Bank’s premises. With this plan, 1,533 staff will be moved to other CBN facilities within Abuja, Lagos and understaffed branches.

“Our current occupancy level of 4,233 significantly exceeds the optimal capacity of 2,700 designed for the Head Office building. This overcrowding poses several critical challenges.”

The source added, “The CBN is saying instead of 200 workers to go work in other states and return to the head office, they should relocate fully to that state for safety and to increase productivity.”