Ndume failures plan to move CBN departments and FAAN headquarters to Lagos

Senate Chief Ali Ndume says relocation of some departments of the Central Bank of Nigeria and the headquarters of the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) from Abuja to Lagos State was influenced by “political cartels” within the government .

Ndume, the senator representing Borno South, said “political cartels” are offering wrong advice to President Bola Tinubu to mislead him on the implementation of some policies.

This was stated by the senator during an interview with Television Channels on Tuesday.

“All these Lagos boys who think Lagos is Nigeria are simply misinforming and wrongly advising the president.

“Those political cartels that are in the halls of power are trying to misinform the president and we will tell the president. “The president will take action.”

This is the third time that a northern personality has condemned the relocation of the two federal government agencies since it became public.

The Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF) had earlier condemned the move of the offices, stating that the decision was to further underdevelop the northern part of the country.

The Northern Senators Forum (NSF) also threatened legal action against the federal government if the office relocation was not reversed.

The capital of Nigeria was moved from Lagos to Abuja on December 13, 1991, during the military regime of Ibrahim Babangida.

There have been rumors that President Tinubu is planning to move the country’s capital back to Lagos, but the presidency has debunked this, saying there is no such plan.

Political consequences

Ndume noted that the relocation of the CBN offices and FAAN headquarters from Abuja to Lagos will create a political crisis in the country.

“They are not doing Mr. President any favors because this will have political consequences,” he said.

The senator expressed confidence that President Tinubu would revoke the plan to move the offices to Abuja.

“We only have one federal capital and that is Abuja.

“The regulators of financial institutions are supposed to be or are in Abuja. Do you want them to come back because you say Lagos is the commercial capital?

“This is one of the errors and I am sure that Mr. President will reverse it because it does not work. You cannot have two capitals.

READ ALSO: Northern senators reject relocation of CBN offices and FAAN headquarters to Lagos

“Will the CBN governor operate from Lagos? Or is he now saying that since most of our oil is extracted from the South-South, he takes the NNPC to the South-South?

“Or is it that because Nigerian agriculture is more in the North, you take the Ministry of Agriculture to any part of the North? It doesn’t work that way.

“I am very sure and confident that Mr. President will look into this situation because he is a nationalist and not just a Lagos man,” Mr. Ndume said.