But in a reaction to the reported “disquiet” among the
state, a former deputy governor of the CBN, Kingsley Moghalu, has supported the
move. He points out that the Lagos office, inaugurated during his tenure 12
years ago, has remained underutilised.
On January 12th, the CBN issued a circular outlining its
plan to decongest its Abuja headquarters, citing exceeding occupancy levels and
concerns over health and safety. The bank aims to move 1,533 staff to other
facilities in Abuja, Lagos, and understaffed branches.
However, the Daily Nigerian reported disquiet among some CBN
workers, with concerns that the relocation would render the Abuja office
“useless.”
Moghalu, a former deputy governor of the CBN, weighed in on
the discussion through social media. He acknowledged that the Lagos office,
inaugurated during his tenure 12 years ago, has been underutilised, making the
relocation a logical solution to address overstaffing in Abuja.
Writing on X, he said, “I don’t see any serious basis for
such “disquiet”. A new Lagos Office for the Bank was completed and inaugurated
about 12 years ago while I was at the Bank. As far as I can remember, it was
under-utilised.
“Meanwhile, the numbers of staff in the Abuja HQ are vastly
over the health and safety limits of the building. Moreover, the market
entities supervised by the Departments that will move to Lagos are mostly in
Lagos. So what’s the problem? Seems a rational decision to me.”