Tinubu has no plans to relocate FCT to Lagos – Presidency
Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, has dismissed allegations of plans by the Federal Government to relocate the Federal Capital Territory from Abuja to Lagos.
Onanuga described the allegations as false in the interpretations given to the matter.
The presidential aide was reacting after the news of the Central Bank of Nigeria to relocating its Department of Banking Supervision to Lagos and the directive of the Ministry of Aviation and Aerospace Development that the Federal Airport Authority of Nigeria(FAAN) relocating its head office back to Lagos.
Many Nigerians specifically from the northern region have condemned the action, saying it’s an act to further impoverished and underdeveloped the northern part of the country.
Chief Whip of the Senate, Ali Ndume, in an interview, said the relocation of the aforementioned government offices would have political consequences to the president.
Onanuga in his statement, responded to the uproar by describing the critics as dishonest ethnic and regional champions, who are simply trying to draw attention to themselves.
He said he believes that the movement of the agencies should not cause any disagreement within the country.
According to him, those pushing the campaign of falsehood and misinformation know they are playing politics, albeit dangerous politics, to create division between the North and the South.
Read full statement below
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 Federal Airport Authority of Nigeria(FAAN) 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, was sponsored by political opponents looking for all manners of weapons to prevent Asiwaju Tinubu from being elected as president by a section of the country.
Using the recent decision of the CBN and FAAN as pretext to start another round of toxic opposition, we want to state, unequivocally, that those behind this sordid narrative 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.
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 politicized by people of goodwill and those who wish our country well.
President 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.
Bayo Onanuga
Special Adviser to the President on Information & Strategy
January 24, 2024
