Bayo Onanuga, the Special Adviser on Information and Strategy to President Bola Tinubu, has dismissed claims in some quarters that the President intends to relocate the federal capital territory from Abuja to Lagos. Responding to criticism regarding the decision to relocate certain departments of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and the corporate headquarters of the Federal Airport Authority of Nigeria (FAAN), he dismissed the claims as inaccurate.
Addressing the matter on his official X (formerly Twitter) account, Onanuga clarified that the decision to move selected CBN offices and FAAN headquarters was a strategic measure. He explained that the relocation aimed to bring regulatory institutions closer to the businesses they oversee in Lagos. Emphasizing that this move should not be misconstrued, he affirmed that Abuja is a permanent and established federal capital territory.
“President Tinubu has no plan whatsoever to move the Federal Capital to Lagos. The rumor first surfaced during the campaign last year by opponents looking for all manners 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 during the last administration, does not amount to moving the 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, as it is not a wholesale movement. Similarly, the movement of some departments of the CBN to Lagos should not trigger any hoopla. The departments concerned, including the bank supervision department, are those dealing with commercial banks, all with headquarters in Lagos. A regulator ought to be close to the businesses it regulates,” he said.
“All those pushing this campaign of falsehood know they are playing politics, albeit a dangerous politics to pit the North against the South Administrative decisions should not be politicized. Let it not look like whenever we are temporarily not at the helm of affairs, we create all manners of dangerous rumors to distract from the bigger picture and emasculate an administration led by a Southerner.”
The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) recently issued an internal memo, revealing its decision to relocate selected offices to Lagos due to congestion in specific departments.
In addition, the government also unveiled its intentions to transfer the headquarters of the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) to improve operational efficiency and cut costs.
In a statement issued by the Director, of Public Affairs and Consumer Protection, Obiageli Orah, the Authority noted that the Abuja location had no office space to contain the activities of the agency.
Meanwhile, there has been criticism of the move, particularly from some members of the northern section of Nigeria who believed that the decision could minimize or jettison Abuja’s status as the federal capital of the country.
