When Benedict Ali Ojobo received his employment letter from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) in August 2023, it felt like the crowning reward for years of discipline and perseverance. The Benue-born pharmacist believed he was stepping into a new chapter of professional fulfilment and national service. Instead, more than two years later, he remains in limbo — one of over 60 Nigerians still awaiting posting after completing every stage of the apex bank’s recruitment process.
For Ojobo, the offer demanded immediate sacrifice. He forfeited an opportunity to sit for a promotion examination in his former workplace — a move that would have elevated him from Chief Pharmacist to Assistant Director of Pharmaceutical Services. The examination date, he explained, clashed with the schedule for documentation and collection of appointment letters at the CBN headquarters in Abuja.
“I chose the CBN because it was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity,” he said. “I completed all documentation and medical screening. We were told to await training and posting.”
That call to resume never came.
A father’s pride, a family’s grief
Ojobo said the appointment was a source of immense pride for his father, a retired primary school teacher in Otukpo, Benue State. According to him, the elderly man already managing diabetes and hypertension personally accompanied him to Abuja for medical screening, convinced of the job’s authenticity and hopeful about his son’s future.
Unaware of the prolonged delay, the elder Ojobo reportedly believed his son had resumed work. The reality, however, remained concealed until a family conversation revealed that the long-awaited posting had yet to materialise.
Ojobo recounted that the shock of learning about the delay triggered a fatal heart attack in his father. The family buried him in May 2025.
The tragedies did not end there. A close friend who travelled from Zaria to attend the burial died in a road accident en route. Ojobo’s younger sister, who had disclosed the delayed posting to their father, later developed serious health complications linked, he believes, to the trauma of the incident. She underwent heart surgery at the University of Nigeria Teaching Hospital, Enugu, but did not survive.
While medical experts caution that cardiac events and complications often have complex causes, Ojobo insists the prolonged uncertainty surrounding the CBN employment worsened the emotional strain on his family.
A nationwide pattern
Investigations indicate that Ojobo’s case is not isolated. At least 60 individuals from across the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory reportedly received employment letters during the CBN’s June–August 2023 recruitment exercise but are yet to be deployed.
Several of them said they resigned from previous positions in compliance with conditions outlined in their offer letters. They were also required to open pension accounts, provide guarantors, and complete extensive documentation.
In a letter dated September 20, 2024, addressed to the CBN Governor and signed by Auta Godwin on behalf of the affected recruits, the group outlined the economic and psychological strain they say they have endured.
They cited prolonged loss of income, inability to meet basic living expenses, disruption of children’s education, and mounting anxiety.
“We understand the enormous responsibilities of your office,” the letter read in part, “but we humbly request urgent consideration of our plight.”
Careers interrupted
For Francisca Idachaba from Kogi State, the experience has been emotionally draining. She described the period since August 2023 as “psychological suspension.”
“We followed every instruction, aptitude tests, interviews, medicals, documentation,” she said. “We were told to resign. We complied in good faith. Since then, there has been no resumption date.”
Idachaba said the silence has left her struggling with anxiety and financial instability.
Similarly, Pangdul Geoffrey Kunda from Plateau State said his household celebrated what they believed was a turning point when his offer letter arrived.
“My wife and children saw it as stability at last,” he said. “But after that excitement came silence. And silence became heavy.”
He described months of uncertainty marked by restlessness and difficulty making new career decisions.
Esther Nuhu, formerly with the Federal Mortgage Bank of Nigeria, said she resigned just four months into her appointment there after receiving the CBN offer.
“It was my first substantive employment,” she said. “Resignation was clearly stated as a condition. I complied and lost my only stable income.”
Yakubu Yarima, a UK-trained professional from Gombe State, echoed similar frustrations, stating that the delay has strained both his finances and morale.
Calls for resolution
Development expert Musa Abdullahi urged authorities to address the situation decisively.
“These individuals went through a structured recruitment process and were issued formal offers,” he said. “Government should either absorb them into the system or provide clear communication and appropriate compensation. Prolonged uncertainty damages trust in public institutions.”
Efforts to obtain official clarification from the CBN were unsuccessful. Calls and text messages sent to the bank’s spokesperson, Hakama Sidi-Ali, from January 24, 2026, were not responded to as of press time.
Waiting without answers
For many of the affected recruits, the most painful aspect of the experience is not merely financial loss but the absence of clear communication.
Two years after accepting what they believed were secure positions within Nigeria’s apex bank, dozens remain suspended between resignation and resumption unable to fully return to previous roles, yet not formally integrated into their new ones.
For Ojobo, the ordeal has permanently altered his life trajectory.
“What hurts most,” he said quietly, “is that we did everything required of us. We believed in the system.”
