An investigation by Pinnacle Daily has revealed that the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) was buzzing with jubilation over the ‘sacking’ of Deputy Governor, Operations Directorate, Bala Mohammed Bello, just two and a half years after his appointment on 5th October 2023.
The jubilation was also shared by former CBN staff who consider themselves victims of Bala Mohammed’s unchecked powers during his tenure as Deputy Governor, Corporate Services Directorate of the apex bank. Several CBN staff who spoke with our reporter described the sack as long overdue.
President Bola Tinubu, through the Special Adviser on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, has nominated the former Director-General of the Securities and Exchange Commission, Lamido Yuguda, as Deputy Governor of the CBN.
In announcing the nomination, which is subject to confirmation by the Senate, Onanuga stated that Yuguda’s nomination followed the recent appointment of the former CBN Deputy Governor, Bala Bello, as Special Adviser to the President on Political Economy.
‘Bello’s SA Appointment Is to Pacify the North’
The appointment of Bello as Special Adviser is based on two factors, according to top management sources from both the CBN and Aso Villa. Bello is believed to be a political ally of a senior security official close to the President, whose advice was sought on how best to manage the situation.
The second reason for his appointment was the need to address growing discontent in the North following the President’s recent political appointments. This includes General Christopher Gwabin Musa’s replacement of Alhaji Mohammed Badaru Abubakar as Minister of Defence and the replacement of the immediate past APC chairman, Dr Abdullahi Ganduje, by Humanitarian Affairs Minister Nentawe Yelwata.
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Pinnacle Daily’s investigation revealed that the last time a similar removal took place was during the tenure of Professor Chukwuma Soludo as CBN Governor.
This incident involved Dr Obadiah Mailafia’s tenure as Deputy Governor of the CBN, which did not last the full five years. He was appointed in May 2005 and left office in March 2007, meaning his tenure lasted approximately one year and ten months instead of five years.
It should also be recalled that in September 2023, President Bola Tinubu removed the then Governor of the CBN, Godwin Emefiele, and all four Deputy Governors serving at the time (Aishah Ahmad, Folashodun Shonubi, Edward Lametek Adamu, and Kingsley Obiora). This was widely reported as the dismissal of their appointments.
The Journey to the Inevitable End of Bello as Deputy Governor
Senior management sources from the CBN disclosed that the sacking of Bello was connected to gross misconduct, which also led to the dismissal of a Director three weeks ago, one Mr Ibrahim Hassan Umar.
According to one of the sources, “The Bank has new houses for the Governor and the Deputy Governors, but Cardoso refused to take or move into his own, which was where Emefiele stayed. So, they had to buy him another one worth billions of naira. It was this transaction that caused the problem that Bello and the Director were involved in.”
Our investigation further revealed that the details of the said Director, Mr Ibrahim Hassan Umar, have been removed from the CBN website. Mr Umar, a certified fraud examiner, was confirmed by Cardoso as the Director of the Development Finance Institutions Supervision Department on 3rd March 2025, after previously serving in an acting capacity as Director of Procurement under Bello as Deputy Governor, Corporate Services.
A senior source said an internal investigation was conducted, which found the Director and others guilty, leading to their sack. The insider also stated that there were several other indictments, which had earlier forced CBN Governor Cardoso to redeploy Bello from Corporate Services to Operations in a quiet reshuffling. This reshuffling saw Ms Emem Usoro take over Corporate Services.
“There was also a need to deal with this issue in a very mature manner, so as not to negatively affect the reputation of the bank, especially considering the recent positive performance and public perception,” said a senior management source.
The Many Sins of Bello
Further findings revealed that there was no love lost between the staff of the apex bank and Bello. He supervised the controversial redeployments of staff from the CBN headquarters in Abuja to Lagos, with many of the affected staff eventually being sacked months later.
He also oversaw the removal of several directors, eventually resulting in their dismissal. The CBN conducted what it termed “disengagements based on reorganisation”. In March, April, and May 2024, staff members ranging from executives to senior and junior staff were arbitrarily and unilaterally disengaged, with only three months’ notice in lieu of severance.
Data on forced exits under the guise of reorganisation and restructuring in March, April, and May 2024 showed that a total of 218 staff were affected. Their bank loans were deducted in full from their gratuity payments, with some staff reportedly leaving with as little as N5,000 to N6,000, as their loan deductions exceeded their gratuity payments. Some were even said to owe the bank after deductions. The matter is currently in court.
Before the reorganisation exercise, “Bello redeployed his younger brother, Bashir Bello, from the Development Finance Department—a department whose staff were constantly fearful of their fate—to the Governor’s department,” said a senior management source.
Upon resuming at the CBN, he cancelled the registration of all accredited contractors, even though they were yet to complete their two-year term. He then registered a new set of contracting firms, which included registered enterprises and ventures, rather than solely limited liability companies as required by CBN’s procurement policies.
Bello was also involved in several spats with staff members, where he was alleged to have called them “incompetent” and “criminals” during his early days as Deputy Governor. He also objected to being addressed as ‘Mr Bello’, insisting instead on being addressed as ‘Dr’, despite not holding a Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), as stipulated by the Federal Ministry of Education.
In his official profile on the CBN website, it is stated that, “He was conferred with a Doctor of Business Administration (Honoris Causa) by Commonwealth University in conjunction with the London Graduate School and a Doctor of Philosophy (Honoris Causa) in Leadership and Management by ESAE University, Republic of Benin.”
However, our investigation found that even in official documents signed by Bello, such as the 2024 financial statement of the CBN, he insists on being addressed as ‘Dr’. This is particularly notable given that Governor Olayemi Cardoso also holds an honorary degree but correctly uses ‘Mr’ as the prefix on his portrait and official documents.
Sunday Michael Ogwu is a Nigerian journalist and editor of Pinnacle Daily. He is known for his work in business and economic reporting. He has held editorial roles in prominent Nigerian media outlets, where he has focused on economic policy, financial markets, and developmental issues affecting Nigeria and Africa more broadly.
