The Arewa Youth Assembly (AYA) has alleged that the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) secretly employed over 400 staff members to replace 1,000 reportedly forced into resignation.

The group, in a statement by its Speaker, Mohammed Salihu Danlami, in Kaduna, yesterday, accused the CBN Governor, Olayemi Cardoso, of masterminding the exercise, which it claimed was not transparent, and did not follow due process.

Danlami questioned the rationale behind hiring new staff when the bank had recently downsized, describing the move as a ?policy summersault.? He also expressed concerns that the recruitment process was not transparent, as it did not involve advertising the positions to allow qualified candidates to apply.

His words: ?We have intercepted credible reports alleging that the Central Bank of Nigeria under the leadership of Olayemi Cardoso has secretly recruited over 400 staff to replace the over 1,000 who were said to have voluntarily resigned.?

?How can a bank that recently shed its weight of excess staff surreptitiously employ 400 others to do what job?

?We are worried that youths from the 19 states and the Federal Capital Territory, which make up our region, must have been left out, thereby violating the principle of federal character.? Efforts to reach the apex bank over the allegation were unsuccessful. (The Guardian)