More Layoffs as CBN Sacks NIRSAL MD, Other Executive Directors

James Emejo in Abuja

In continuation of a series of layoffs at the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) since the governor of the apex bank, Olayemi Cardoso, assumed office last year, the CBN has terminated the appointments of the Managing Director and all the executive directors at the Nigeria Incentive-Based Risk Sharing System for Agriculture Lending (NIRSAL).
The layoffs, it was gathered, were part of an ongoing reorganisation at the bank, where over 700 staff had been relieved of their appointments within the past year.

THISDAY gathered that those affected by this action, which was approved by Cardoso on Friday, include the Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, Abbas Umar Masanawa; Executive Director, Operations, Kennedy Nwaruh and Executive Director, Technical, Olatunde Akande.
Multiple sources within the bank told THISDAY that the decision of the apex bank governor was communicated to affected persons on Friday evening, sending panic over a wider action in the coming days.
A NIRSAL official also confirmed the development last night, explaining that the remaining staff were awaiting clarity on the circumstances surrounding the executive directors’ dismissal.

NIRSAL is a $500 million public-private initiative, wholly owned by the CBN as a licensed financial institution designed to appropriately define, price, and share agribusiness-related credit risk.
It was gathered that in the sack letters, the CBN cited an ongoing major organisational and human capital restructuring process as the reason for the termination of the appointments of the officials.

The apex bank had in May terminated the appointments of seven directors and over 90 senior management staff, raising concerns about the impact of the exercise on the bank’s operations and the overall financial system.
NIRSAL’s activities had been enmeshed in allegations of corruption under its pioneer Managing Director, Mr. Abulhammed Aliyu, who is currently facing corruption allegations by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).

Only recently a private consultant, Dr. Steve Olusegun Ogidan, returned N1.5 billion to the EFCC in a plea bargain in a case involving Abdulhameed, insisting however that the funds were legitimate earnings from consultancy services.
NIRSAL’s board meeting earlier scheduled for Friday failed to be held as a result of the sack of the officials.
Former President Muhammadu Buhari had in September 2018, approved the appointment of Masanawa as Managing Director of the Nigeria Security Printing and Minting Company (NSPMC).

A former deputy general manager at Zenith Bank, Masanawa had served as special adviser to the former governor of CBN, Mr. Godwin Emefiele and steadily moved up the rung to become the executive director at the NSPMC.
However, in May 2022, Mansanawa resigned to vie for the governorship ticket of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Katsina State.
After he failed to clinch the ticket, he was appointed as the new head of NIRSAL, following the removal of Abdulhammed in December 2022, over corruption allegations.

Masanawa, a graduate of Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, obtained his postgraduate degree in Business Administration from University of Maiduguri in 2000.
He worked briefly with FSB Bank before joining Zenith Bank where he worked for about 17 years.

He rose to the position of Deputy General Manager before his appointment in 2014 as the Special Assistant and Chief Liaison to the Governor of CBN in September 2014.