Adebayo Adenrele
President Bola Tinubu has said he has no intention of returning the nation’s federal capital to Lagos State.
The President stated this in response to the recent controversies that have trailed the relocation of Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) and some departments of Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) from Abuja to Lagos.
Tinubu, in a statement signed by his Special Adviser on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, said that the movement of the FAAN and CBN departments to Lagos has nothing to do with the moving of the federal capital, noting that the conspiracy was fueled by ‘dishonest, ethnic and regional champions’
The statement reads, “The movement of FAAN, a department of the Aviation Ministry to Lagos, where it was based before former minister Hadi Sirika moved it to Abuja during the last administration, does not amount to moving the FCT to Lagos.
“The administrative move should have attracted scant attention, as Lagos is the commercial capital and the hub of aviation business in Nigeria. FAAN should be nowhere else but near the industry it regulates.
“FAAN will still maintain some presence in Abuja, as it is not a wholesale movement.”
On the CBN’s move, he said, “Similarly, the movement of some departments of the CBN to Lagos should not trigger any hoopla. The departments concerned, including the bank supervision department, are those dealing with commercial banks, all with headquarters in Lagos. A regulator ought to be close to the businesses it regulates.
“There are many parastatals that are not based in Abuja depending on their mandate. NIMASA is in Lagos. So is NPA. National Inland Waterways Authority( NIWA) is in Lokoja, not Abuja.
“Will the people opposing the movement of FAAN and some CBN departments want those agencies to be in Abuja, where there is no single port and no maritime activity?”
Earlier, a lawmaker representing Borno South Senatorial District, Senator Ali Ndume on Tuesday criticized the relocation plan, in an interview with Channels Television.
The Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF) had also in a statement by its National Publicity Secretary, Professor Muhammad Baba, described the move as a deliberate plot against the Northern region.
The Forum said the development was a disturbing pattern of antagonistic actions against the interests of the North and other parts of the country.
