The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) is embroiled in a growing controversy over the appointment, influence, and compensation of three female consultants brought in by Governor Olayemi Cardoso. The women, whose roles and remuneration have sparked widespread discontent among senior staff, are now at the center of a heated debate about transparency, accountability, and governance within the apex bank, According to premiumtimes report.
Governor Cardoso, who assumed office on September 22, 2023, reportedly brought in the consultants shortly after his appointment. The trio—Nkiru Balonwu, Daphne Dafinone, and Shola Phillips—have since become a source of tension within the CBN, with staff members accusing them of wielding excessive power and bypassing established hierarchies.
Nkiru Balonwu, founder of The Africa Soft Power Group, was hired as a corporate communications consultant despite the CBN already having a fully staffed and functional corporate communications department. Daphne Dafinone, a chartered accountant and COO of Crowe Dafinone, has been tasked with various roles, including designing a controversial early exit program for over 1,000 CBN staff, a responsibility that traditionally falls under the human resources department. Shola Phillips, a technical consultant from Citibank, has reportedly been less disruptive but remains a subject of scrutiny.
Senior staff members across the CBN’s 29 departments have expressed frustration over the consultants’ unchecked authority and “obscene” compensation packages. Balonwu is said to earn N50 million monthly, more than the combined salaries of 15 CBN directors, while Dafinone reportedly takes home N35 million monthly, exceeding the combined pay of 10 directors.
“These women are doing nothing. They are not adding any value to the bank. The governor is just enriching them because they are his friends,” a disgruntled staff member lamented. Another insider described the situation as “disturbing,” noting that even former Governor Godwin Emefiele, despite his controversies, did not engage in such “impunity.”
The consultants, mockingly referred to as the “Cardoso women,” are said to operate with unprecedented autonomy. They reportedly write memos on CBN letterheads, issue directives to departmental directors, and have permanent offices on the 11th floor of the CBN headquarters—the same floor as the governor. In contrast, the bank’s four deputy governors are housed on the 10th floor, leading to derisive comparisons that Balonwu and Dafinone function as the “fifth and sixth deputy governors.”
The hiring of the consultants has raised serious questions about compliance with Nigeria’s Public Procurement Act of 2007, which mandates transparent and competitive processes for engaging consultants. The Act requires public advertisements, defined terms of reference, and clear evaluation criteria to ensure accountability and value for money. However, the appointments of Balonwu and Dafinone appear to have bypassed these legal requirements, with no public advertisements, competitive bidding, or defined deliverables.
“Their consultancies have no end dates, and they were hired arbitrarily without following due process,” a CBN director revealed. “This is a clear violation of the Public Procurement Act.”
Adding to the controversy, Daphne Dafinone is set to face trial on March 4, 2025, over an alleged N100 million fraud. The case, filed at the Federal High Court in Lagos, accuses Dafinone and her company, CEDDI Corporation Limited, of defrauding developer Lukman Adeleke in a 2019 property transaction. Despite her legal troubles, Dafinone continues to serve as a consultant at the CBN and was recently appointed to the board of the Nigerian Incentive-based Risk Sharing System of Agricultural Lending (NIRSAL), a CBN-owned institution.
Efforts to reach the consultants and the CBN for comments were unsuccessful. Calls and messages to Balonwu and Dafinone went unanswered, while CBN spokesperson Hakama Ali could not be reached for clarification.
