The Arewa Youth Consultative Forum has expressed strong disapproval of the decision to relocate key departments from both the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) to Lagos.
Initiating the move, FAAN and CBN have started transferring some essential departments to Lagos, citing high costs as a primary factor behind the relocations.
The Central Bank of Nigeria, through an internal memo disclosed to Sunday PUNCH last week, officially announced the transfer of specific departments to Lagos State.
The memo partly reads, “This is to notify all staff members at the CBN Head Office that we have initiated a decongestion action plan designed to optimize the operational environment of the Bank.
“This initiative aims to ensure compliance with building safety standards and enhance the efficient utilization of our office space.
“This action is necessitated by several factors, including the need to align the Bank’s structure with its functions and objectives, redistribute skills to ensure a more even geographical spread of talent, and comply with building regulations, as indicated by repeated warnings from the Facility Manager, and the findings and recommendations of the Committee on Decongestion of the CBN Head Office.
“The action plan focuses on optimizing the utilization of other Bank’s premises. With this plan, 1,533 staff will be moved to other CBN facilities within Abuja, Lagos and understaffed branches.
“Our current occupancy level of 4,233 significantly exceeds the optimal capacity of 2,700 designed for the Head Office building. This overcrowding poses several critical challenges.”
In a corresponding development, the Federal Government has officially declared the relocation of the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria’s (FAAN) headquarters from Abuja to Lagos.
The announcement came through a memorandum dated January 15, 2024, signed by the Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Festus Keyamo, and the Managing Director of FAAN, Mrs. Olubunmi Kuku.
The memo explicitly states, “The Honourable Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development has directed that the Headquarters of the Federal Airport Authority of Nigeria should be relocated from Abuja to Lagos.
“Consequent upon the above, you are requested to provide the implication of the relocation to the management.”
The Arewa Youth Consultative Forum (AYCF) strongly believes that the relocation of key government departments to Lagos poses a significant threat to Abuja’s status as the capital city, raising concerns about potential negative implications for the entire nation. Alhaji Yerima Shettima, the President General of AYCF, expressed these concerns during a press conference in Kaduna on Friday.
He emphasized the risks associated with the move, including the potential undermining of national unity, disruption of operations, economic setbacks, and the perpetuation of regional imbalances.
He argued that Abuja was strategically chosen as the capital to foster national unity and decentralize power, and any agenda tampering with this arrangement would face staunch resistance from the northern region.
Expressing disappointment over the perceived complicit silence of the Northern elite regarding these relocations, Shettima stressed that they should not remain silent when the political and economic viability of the region is at stake.
He called on well-meaning Nigerians to voice their concerns against what he termed “emerging arbitrariness” and urged relevant authorities to halt the relocations to prevent potential harm to Abuja’s status as the capital city.
“The organisation urges decision-makers to prioritise national unity and ensure that any actions taken do not perpetuate regional imbalances or compromise the political and economic viability of Northern Nigeria.
“AYCF remains committed to its mission of promoting unity and development in Northern Nigeria and the nation as a whole and vows to continue advocating for the preservation of Abuja’s status as the capital city and to resist any attempts to undermine national unity,” he added.
| Punch
