Gambia's Central Bank Sets December 31 Deadline to Replace Non-Gambian Bank Staff

Nigeria's diaspora agency, the Nigerians in Diaspora Commission, said on November 4, 2026 that a staffing directive from the Central Bank of The Gambia could displace 57 Nigerian professionals working at four Nigerian-origin lenders in the West African country. The regulator has ordered commercial banks to replace non-Gambian employees with qualified Gambian nationals by December 31, 2026. The commission has asked the central bank to reverse the order.

Several of the affected lenders are subsidiaries of larger pan-African banking groups with operations spanning multiple West African markets. That structure means the staffing change could touch cross-border career paths, since employees in these groups often move between countries within the same network.

The directive follows an industry study the central bank carried out. The regulator found that banks employed more non-Gambian workers than the expatriate arrangements formally recognize. It linked some of those positions to the country's 2023 labor law and to its guideline governing expatriate employment.

Timeline and scope

The memo is addressed to managing directors of all banks operating in the country and is dated September 16, 2026. It followed a meeting with bank managing directors on August 27. The directive itself is therefore not new, and the reaction from Nigeria is what drew wider attention this week.

The central bank has not said how many staff across the industry are affected, and its publicly circulated letter does not name specific institutions. The commission's figure of 57 professionals is based on information available to it rather than an official count from the regulator.

Press coverage named Access Bank, FirstBank, Guaranty Trust Bank and Zenith Bank as the Nigerian-origin lenders potentially affected. Those names were drawn from reporting and from a list of licensed banks, not from the central bank's letter itself.

What the deadline requires

The central bank asked banks to take a phased approach. Institutions must identify roles held by non-Gambian employees, transfer skills to qualified Gambian nationals, and keep operations running during the handover. The regulator also said the process must fully comply with local law and its employment guidelines, and the letter was copied to the central bank's governor.

With the deadline about eight weeks after the commission's reaction, affected banks have a short window to plan. The directive does not set out hiring targets, so it is unclear how many roles will be filled locally and how many will be reassigned or closed.

For bank staff, the directive puts weight on local qualifications and documented skills transfer. Non-Gambian professionals in affected roles may face reassignment, relocation or departure. Gambian nationals with relevant qualifications may be considered for roles that are reassigned, which could shape banking jobs in the country over the coming months.

What to watch next

Key developments to monitor include whether the central bank responds to the commission's request for reversal, whether banks publish staffing plans or transition timelines, and whether any affected workers are reassigned before the December 31 deadline. Reporting so far has not described penalties for non-compliance, so the enforcement approach remains an open question.