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Not long ago (unfortunately I cannot locate the thread in my archive) there was a thread here on NVS on how Professor Chukwuma Soludo as Governor of Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) flooded the bank with Igbo staff. Some "insiders" went as far as claiming that 85% of CBN staff are Igbos. The anger over this obvious act of mindless nepotism was further fueled by the Prof. Abdul Oba led Federal Character Commission who queried CBN for making CBN an Igbo agency (apparently, following a staff audit to confirm the extent of compliance with the Federal Character principle).
Well, as the saying goes, falsehood hardly travels far. Today, yes today, the 6th of November 2009; I was at an event at the Conference Room of the CBN in Abuja and was shocked to discover that for a 2-day event to introduce a major policy that will - all things being equal - transform the payment system in Nigeria, not a single Igbo man (or woman) was mentioned amongst the key officials (comprising the CBN Governor, Sanusi Lamido, CBN Deputy Governor Tunde Lemo and about 6 Directors) that were to grace the high table and officiate some sessions of the conference.
A more curious discovery is that, apart yours truly, there are less than 5 Igbos in over 15 Committees and sub-committees drawn from banks, switching companies, government agencies, electronic card (purse) providers, ICT companies, etc to formulate the national payment system. I was to learn from an Igbo CBN staffer that CBN has only two Igbo directors and that the bulk of CBN staff are South Westerners followed by (you guessed right) our Northern brothers.
To think that the committees were set-up about two years ago under Soludo's regime and that it is less than 4 months since Soludo left CBN and yet the South East was no where in the scheme of things at CBN was simply sad. I asked my kinsman about the 85% Igbo CBN staff and he referred me back to Professor Oba and FCC.
It is bad to be left out in the scheme of things in your country. It is even sadder to be accused by those whose constitutional and birthright it is to dominate and to lord it over you that you are marginalising them.
I hope that this revelation will assist in debunking some of the false but popular rumours that some people like peddling in the media.
Now where is the Federal Character Commission...?
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Igboamaze,
Ogbete Enugu
6th November, 2009.
Federal Character and Central Bank of Nigeria 
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