No fewer than 60 recruits offered employment by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) during the 2023 recruitment exercise say they remain in limbo nearly two years after receiving their offer letters, with no training date or official posting.
The affected candidates, drawn from across Nigeria’s 36 states, said the prolonged delay has left many of them unemployed, financially strained and emotionally distressed after resigning from their previous jobs as required by the bank.
One of the recruits, Benedict Ali Ojobo from Benue State, said he received his appointment letter on August 28, 2023 after successfully completing the bank’s aptitude test, interview and medical screening.
Ojobo said he even missed a promotion examination at his former workplace, where he served as Chief Pharmacist, because it clashed with the date fixed for documentation at the CBN headquarters in Abuja.
According to him, he completed all required documentation by October 2023 but has since been waiting without any communication on training or posting.
Ojobo said the delay has caused severe personal trauma, linking the development to a series of family tragedies, including the deaths of his father and younger sister.
Investigations showed that several other recruits share similar experiences.
In a letter dated September 20, 2024 and addressed to the CBN Governor, the affected recruits said the delay had resulted in months of lost income, difficulty meeting basic needs such as rent and healthcare, and growing psychological stress.
Some of the recruits said they resigned from stable jobs to comply with the bank’s instructions after receiving their offer letters.
Esther Nuhu, who previously worked at the Federal Mortgage Bank of Nigeria, said she left her job barely four months after joining because resignation was a condition attached to the CBN employment offer.
Another recruit, Pangdul Geoffrey Kunda from Plateau State, said the uncertainty has caused prolonged anxiety and disrupted family plans.
A development expert, Musa Abdullahi, called on the Federal Government to intervene, urging authorities to either absorb the recruits into the system or compensate them.
Efforts to obtain official comments from the CBN were unsuccessful. However, a bank staff member who spoke anonymously said the matter is currently before a court and the institution could not comment.
