The removal of Mr. Lamido Sanusi as the governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria has not affected the mood of workers at the Abuja headquarters of the apex financial institution.
Our correspondent, who visited the headquarters of the bank on Friday observed the workers performing their duties as if nothing had happened.
A senior official in the apex bank, who spoke to our correspondent on the condition of anonymity, said the suspension of the governor could not, in any way, affect the output of workers.
The official said since majority of the members of staff were career public officers, whatever happened to the leadership of the institution should not deter them from carrying their duties.
The official said, “Sanusi has been a controversial person right from his assumption of office as governor of the Central Bank. But recently, he has engaged in actions, the presidency considers unbecoming of the office of a governor of the Central Bank.
“You will recall that he was issued a query last year by President Goodluck Jonathan due to allegations of financial irregularities in the 2012 accounts of the bank.
“Sanusi replied that query and no response was received from the presidency. But since that time, instead of Sanusi to lie low, he has been saying things, which have led to more controversies.
“But his suspension has not affected our operation since there is no leadership vacuum.”
Another official, who also didn’t want his name printed for fear of sanctions, said apart from the initial feeling of shock when Sanusi’s removal was announced, the choice of Dr. Sarah Alade, who is also an insider, had restored confidence in the workers.
The official said, “Initially, when the news came that Sanusi had been suspended, there was this apprehension from all of us, which is normal, since we didn’t know who would likely take over.
“But when we now heard that madam (Alade) had been asked to take over the leadership of the institution, we felt relieved because we still have an insider at the helm of affairs.”
Meanwhile at the CBN office in Lagos, top and middle cadre workers on Friday betrayed mixed feelings of excitement, gloom and apathy over the suspension of Sanusi.
Further findings showed that some of the workers in Lagos were also divided along ethnic lines. It was learnt that some of the officials from the northern part of the country were not happy with the development.
A CBN source said, “Some of the people from the same region with Sanusi are unhappy while people from the same region with the nominated candidate are happy. ”
