Senators Disagree Over Relocation
Karimi Says Ndume’s Comment Personal
BY GODWIN IJEDIOGOR
THE Presidency has clarified that there was no plan to relocate Nigeria’s capital to Lagos, following fears by some concerned Nigerians, especially from the North, regarding the planned movement of some departments of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and the headquarters of the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) for greater efficiency.
Recall that the FAAN headquarters was relocated from Lagos to Abuja by former minister of Aviation under President Muhammadu Buhari, Hadi Sirika, for no justifiable reason.
The Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF), lately Senator Ali Ndume, representing Borno Sout in the National Assembly, had kicked against the plan, with Ndume threatening political repercussions if the Federal Government of President Bola Tinubu went ahead with the plan.
In its reaction to the raging misinterpretation of the intent and purpose of the action, the Presidency, in a statement signed by the Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Mr. Bayo Onanuga, late on Wednesday, January 24, stated: “We have noticed how mischief-makers, bent on fueling needless ethnic mistrust, have deliberately misinterpreted the decision of the Central Bank of Nigeria to relocate its Department of Banking Supervision to Lagos and the directive of the Ministry of Aviation and Aerospace Development that the @FAAN_Official should relocate its head office back to Lagos.
“We consider it necessary to inform Nigerians that there is no iota of truth in the interpretations given to the directives in some quarters and the unfounded claims and rumours that President Bola Tinubu is planning to relocate the Federal Capital back to Lagos.
“These rumours, which first surfaced during the electioneering last year, were sponsored by political opponents looking for all manners of weapons to prevent Tinubu from being elected as president by a section of the country.
“Those behind this renewed sordid narrative, using the recent decision of the CBN and FAAN as pretext to start another round of toxic opposition, are dishonest ethnic and regional champions, trying to draw attention to themselves.
“The status of Abuja as the Federal Capital has come to stay. It is backed by law. The movement of FAAN, an agency of Aviation Ministry, to Lagos, where it was located before former Minister of Aviation, Hadi Sirika, moved it to Abuja during the last administration, does not amount to moving the Federal Capital to Lagos.
“The administrative move should have ordinarily attracted scant attention, as Lagos is the commercial capital and the hub of aviation business in Nigeria. FAAN will still maintain some presence in Abuja. It is not a wholesale movement.”
He added: “Similarly, the movement of the Department of Banking Supervision of the CBN to Lagos should not trigger any discord within the polity. The department concerned deals with commercial banks, almost all of which have their headquarters in Lagos.
“All those pushing this campaign of falsehood and misinformation know they are merely playing politics, albeit a dangerous politics, to pit the North against the South.
“There are many parastatals that are not based in Abuja, depending on their mandate. The headquarters of the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) and Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA), for example, are in Lagos.
“In the same vein, the headquarters of National Inland Waterways Authority (NIWA) is in Lokoja, while that of the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB) was commissioned by former President Muhammadu Buhari, is in Yenagoa, Bayelsa State.
“It must be pointed out that these decisions are purely administrative that should not be politicised by people of goodwill and those who wish our country well. Tinubu-led administration is working tirelessly to be just and equitable to every section of the country.
“We urge restraint on the part of those whose stock in trade is to create all manner of dangerous rumours to distract every government from the noble objective of meeting the yearnings and aspirations of Nigerians.
“Our citizens desire nothing but good governance that positively impacts their lives. Rumour mongering is a pernicious disservice to this ultimate expectation of our people. “
Meanwhile, the senator representing Kogi-West, Sunday Karimi, has called out the Senate Chief Whip, Ali Ndume, over his comments on the relocation, saying his colleague’s position was “personal and does not in any way represent a position taken by the senate.”
In a statement issued in Abuja on Wednesday, January 24, and personally signed by Karimi, the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) chieftain, who chairs the Senate Services Committee, said it was unnecessary for Ndume to be attaching ethnic or tribal sentiments to the relocation of the offices, which was done for cohesion and better services delivery.
“Leaders need to avoid utterances that will heat up the polity and cause division and disaffection among the federating units of the country. For example, the headquarters of 96 per cent of all banks in Nigeria are in Lagos. The staff of the Banking and Supervision Department of the CBN often travel to Lagos to check their books at the headquarters. It will, therefore, save cost to have that directorate in Lagos.
“Also, Lagos remains the hub of aviation in Nigeria. For operational efficiency, it is better to have FAAN in Lagos.
“What is important to our people in the North and Nigerians as a whole is how decisions of government will affect their lives positively and put food on their table at cheaper prices. They are not bothered by any ethnic sentiments on the relocation of offices of federal ministries and agencies.
“Ndume’s position is personal and doesn’t represent the position of the Nigerian Senate.”
Karimi noted that the Northern Senators Forum had not taken an official and formal decision on the issue, preferring the option of an investigation.”
