Northern youths oppose relocation of FAAN, CBN departments to Lagos

The Arewa Youth Consultative Forum has condemned the relocation of key departments of the Central Bank of Nigeria and the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria to Lagos. The FAAN and the CBN had begun relocating some of their key departments to Lagos, citing high costs as part of the reason for the relocations. In an internal memo last week, the Central Bank of Nigeria announced the transfer of some of its departments to Lagos State. The memo explained that the initiative aims to ensure compliance with building safety standards and enhance the efficient utilization of the CBN’s office space. Similarly, the Federal government announced the relocation of the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria’s headquarters from Abuja to Lagos. The relocation was officially announced by the Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Festus Keyamo, in a memo dated 15th of January, 2024 and signed by the Managing Director of FAAN, Mrs Olubunmi Kuku. However, AYCF believes that these relocations to Lagos pose a significant threat to Abuja’s status as the capital city and could have negative implications for the nation as a whole. The President General of the AYCF, Alhaji Yerima Shettima, at a press conference in Kaduna on Friday, expressed concern over the potential consequences that could arise from the relocations of the agencies. He emphasized that the move risked undermining national unity, disrupting operations, causing economic setbacks, and perpetuating regional imbalances. He argued that Abuja was deliberately chosen as the capital to promote national unity and decentralize power, noting that any agenda that sought to tamper with the arrangement would be fiercely resisted by the north. Shettima expressed his disappointment over what he termed the complicit silence of the Northern elite “regarding these provocations.”

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