By Uche Amunike
The senator representing Bornu South in the Red Chambers, Ali Ndume has kicked against the federal government relocating some departments of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and the headquarters of the Federal Airport Authority of Nigeria (FAAN), from Abuja to Lagos, citing that it was a decision obviously influenced by ‘political cartels’ within the Tinubu-led government.
Speaking during an interview with Channels Television on Tuesday, the Chief Whip of the Senate maintained that these ‘political cartels’ would, by such advices, end up misleading President Tinubu on implementing certain policies in his administration .
His words: ‘All these Lagos boys who are thinking that Lagos is Nigeria are just misinforming and advising the president wrongly. Those political cartels that are in the corridors of power are trying to misinform the president and we will tell the President. The President will take action’, he stated.
Recall that this would be the third time that a notable figure from the north would be condemning the relocation of both the CBN and FAAN headquarters to Lagos State, since the announcement was brought to public notice.
The Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF) had earlier voiced their disapproval of the offices being moved to Lagos and claimed that it was a decision taken with the intention of under-developing the northern part of the country.
The Northern Consultative Forum also condemned it and further threatened legal action against the Tinubu-led government if they did not reverse the relocation of both offices.
Recall that Nigeria’s capital was moved from Lagos to Abuja on 13 December 1991 during the regime of Ibrahim Babangida during the military era. Speculations are rife about President Tinubu planning to move the nation’s capital back to Lagos, but the presidency has however debunked it, saying there was no such thing like that.
According to Ali Ndume, relocating the CBN offices and the headquarters of FAAN from Abuja to Lagos will lead to political crisis in the country. He further expressed his trust in President Bola Tinubu, stating that he would reverse the plan for those relocations because there is only one Federal Capital in Nigeria, which remains Abuja.
Hear him: ‘We only have one federal capital and that is Abuja. The regulators of the financial institutions are supposed to be or are in Abuja. Do you want them to move back because you say Lagos is the commercial capital? This is one of the mistakes and I’m sure Mr President will reverse it because it doesn’t work. You can’t have two capitals.’
‘Is the CBN governor going to be operating from Lagos? Or do you now say that because the majority of our oil is extracted from the South-south, you take NNPC to the South-south’, he asked.
Meanwhile, the former Director General of the Peter Obi 2023 Campaign Organization, Doyin Okupe, has called for political maturity while responding to Senator Ali’s position on moving the said offices to Lagos by the federal government.
Speaking, through a letter which he openly addressed to Ali Ndume, he described his threats of political consequences against the president as unwarranted and demeaning to his status as a senator, advising him to handle the situation with equanimity and the maturity it deserves, taking into consideration, the delicate nature of Nigeria’s democracy. > Adebowale: LP Politician’s Wife, Dr Ify Aniebo Apologizes Publicly for Owing Worker, Thanks Husband for Clearing the Debt
