No plan to move federal capital back to Lagos, says Presidency
January 25, 2024
Fausiat Salako-Sanni
The Presidency told Nigerians yesterday that there is no plan to move the federal capital to Lagos.
The federal government disclosed this after the reactions of some northern groups and leaders over relocating some departments of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and offices of the Federal Aviation Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) to Lagos.
Reacting to the claim, the Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, wrote on his X page, “President Tinubu has no plan to move federal capital to Lagos. The rumour first surfaced during the campaign last year by opponents looking for all manner of weapons to stop him. We trashed it.
“Those peddling it anew are dishonest, ethnic and regional champions, trying to draw attention to themselves. Abuja has come to stay. It is backed by law.
“The movement of FAAN, a department of the Aviation Ministry, to Lagos, where it was based before former Minister Hadi Sirika moved it to Abuja, does not amount to moving FCT to Lagos. The administrative move should have attracted scant attention, as Lagos is the commercial capital and the hub of aviation business in Nigeria. FAAN should be nowhere else, but near the industry it regulates. FAAN will still maintain some presence in Abuja.
“Similarly, the movement of some departments of CBN to Lagos should not trigger any hoopla. The departments concerned, including Bank Supervision, are those dealing with commercial banks, all with headquarters in Lagos. A regulator ought to be close to the businesses it regulates.
“All those pushing this campaign of falsehood know they are playing politics, albeit a dangerous politics, to pit the North against South.”