CBN Governor Cardoso Dismisses NIRSAL Executive Management

The Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Mr. Olayemi Cardoso, has dismissed the entire executive management team of the Nigeria Incentive-Based Risk Sharing System for Agricultural Lending (NIRSAL).

A source within the organization confirmed that the affected directors received their termination letters on Friday.

This move follows the earlier dismissal of NIRSAL’s pioneer Managing Director, Mr. Aliyu Abdulhameed, who was ousted over allegations of multi-billion Naira fraud and is currently under investigation.

In the latest development, Abbas Umar Masanawa, who succeeded Abdulhameed, has also been relieved of his duties. While the CBN stated that these dismissals were part of a broader reorganization effort, insiders suggest that Governor Cardoso’s decision was influenced by the desire to remove individuals with questionable records.

It remains unclear, however, how all the dismissed directors were implicated in the alleged mismanagement of NIRSAL’s resources.

Among those dismissed were Kennedy Nwaruh, Executive Director of Operations, and Olatunde Akande, Executive Director of Technical Services at NIRSAL Plc.

There is ongoing uncertainty among NIRSAL’s staff regarding the potential impact of this shakeup on other senior management positions, which has reportedly caused significant concern within the organization.