Northern senators have rejected the planned relocation of some federal agencies from Abuja to Lagos just as they alleged lopsidedness in the distribution and allocation of resources in the N28.7 trillion 2024 budget against the North.
The senators spread the word about their inclination yesterday in an explanation given by their representative, Suleiman Kawu Sumaila, addressing Kano South Senatorial Region on the foundation of the New Nigeria Ideological Group (NNPP).
In light of congestion at its headquarters in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) recently announced plans to relocate some of its departments to Lagos State in an internal memo.
Soon after the CBN declaration, the Priest of Flying and Aviation Improvement, Festus Keyamo, additionally requested the migration of the Government Air Terminals Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) central command from Abuja to Lagos.
In any case, the administrators, under the aegis of Northern Legislators’ Gathering, kicked against the move and asked their constituents to stay patient, saying they would draw in the chief in tranquil discussions and convey lawful measures where important to resolve the issue.
Sumaila issued the following statement to the 58 Northern senators: We are committed to addressing the concerns and feelings of our constituents regarding certain decisions and policies made by the Federal Government—lopsided distribution and allocation of resources in the 2024 budget, relocation of some federal agencies from Abuja to Lagos—as national representatives of the people (Senate).
“We figure out the significance of encouraging an amicable connection between the public authority and its residents, and it is in this soul that we are reporting our aggregate endeavors to look for a neighborly goal to these major problems, inside the bounds of our constitution and existing regulations.
“We are guaranteeing our constituents that we have viewed their interests in a serious way and are effectively captivating with our partners to really address these issues. We solidly put stock in the force of open exchange and coordinated effort to achieve positive change for our country.”
This is similarly collectively, Trust Arewa Advancement Drive (HADI), has blamed Keyamo over supposed plans to migrate the foundation of fire and truck support and renovation focus project from Katsina State.
HADI’s public facilitator, Adamu Mohammed, in a proclamation in Abuja, communicated alarm over what it named “the poorly thought move and careless activity.”
The gathering was responding to a supposed plot by AVSATEL Correspondences Restricted, looking for the migration of the National Government-granted Foundation of Fire and Truck Support and Renovation Center task’s site beyond Katsina.
In an authority correspondence to Keyamo, which was dated December 4, 2023, one Mag. Georg Eder, the Overseeing Chief/President of AVSATEL Correspondences Restricted, looked for the Pastor’s agree to move the middle task.
“The reminder noticed that having the undertaking site either in Abuja or any piece of the South is better’. However, the firm gave seven ‘valid justifications’ the reason it is proposing an adjustment of the undertaking site from Katsina, it is able to specify that the ‘grounds’ may not be viable, honestly.
The group argued that “the experts and aviation professionals, who may have been involved in the decision to site the project in Katsina (in the first place), were not ignorant of the drawbacks it could have posed thereafter,” and that AVSATEL Communications “extensively” highlighted these issues in its letter to Keyamo.
However, Ohanaeze Ndigbo, the most powerful Igbo cultural organization, cautioned President Bola Tinubu to be wary of a “Northern conspiracy against his administration” while urging him to quickly resolve the security issues in the FCT. They added that Northerners are claiming that Tinubu is deliberately promoting Yorubanization and Lagoslization of the polity through skewed appointments in critical economic and security sectors that primarily favor Yorubas from the Southwest
In a proclamation in Abakaliki, the Secretary General of Chidi Ibeh-drove group of Ohanaeze Ndigbo, Mazi Okechukwu Isiguzoro, approached President Tinubu to speedily address the uncertainty challenges in Abuja, which might be impacted by monetary difficulties and Northern propensities, adding that Abuja occupants and Nigerians at large are persevering through huge difficulties because of the expulsion of fuel sponsorships.
The assertion peruses: ” The endowment evacuation has prompted soaring petrol costs, heightening expansion rates, inflated expenses of labor and products, and extreme transportation tolls.
“Ohanaeze Ndigbo has closely observed the derogatory statements and actions of prominent leaders from the Northern region against President Tinubu.” We express our profound worry over these events and earnestly call for measures to address the heightening security challenges in Abuja. President Tinubu should likewise stay watchful despite a possible Northern intrigue against his organization.
“President Tinubu should practice most extreme wariness, especially as the North is right now showing ‘Red Lights.” The Northern coalition that opposed former President Goodluck Jonathan and used insecurity as a political weapon should serve as a model for the Federal Government.
The Joint Action Committee of Northern Youths Associations (JACYA) yesterday urged the Federal Government to reverse its decision to relocate the CBN offices and FAAN headquarters to Lagos, a day after Arewa youths protested the move of federal agencies. The decision, according to JACYA members, would be opposed by the North if not reversed.
At a public interview in Kaduna, the gathering, which is comprised of a few Common Society Associations (CSOs) promised to leave on mass dissent and legitimate activity against the National Government over the supposed endeavor to underestimate the Northern locale.
JACYA Convener, Murtala Abubakar, said: ” We are here today to voice our strong opposition to and concern regarding the alleged relocation of FAAN headquarters from the Federal Capital Territory to Lagos and the proposed relocation of five crucial departments of the CBN, an institution that is the foundation of our economic stability and financial governance.
