FG: Why we’re relocating FAAN headquarters, CBN department to Lagos

Bayo Onanuga, special adviser on information and strategy to President Bola Tinubu, says Lagos is the hub of the aviation business, hence the federal government’s decision to relocate the headquarters of the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) to the state.

On January 18, 2024, FAAN had announced the relocation of its headquarters from Abuja to Lagos after a directive from Festu Keyamo, minister of aviation and aerospace development. The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) also made a similar announcement.

With dissatisfaction emanating from various quarters, the Northern Senators Forum (NSF) said it would engage the executive as the move continued to elicit controversial debates nationwide.

Suleiman Sumaila, NSF’s spokesperson and senator representing Kano south, said the forum received concerns from their constituents over the decisions of the federal government regarding the agencies.

Ali Ndume, chief whip of the senate, also said the relocation of some offices of the CBN and headquarters of FAAN to Lagos, would have political consequences.

Ndume said “political cartels” are misguiding Tinubu to make the wrong decisions.

In addition, there have been arguments that the relocation of FAAN and CBN’s departments to Lagos was part of surreptitious plots by the government to make the state the federal capital of Nigeria as well.

FG’s DEFENCE

Defending the federal government, Onanuga, who spoke in a statement on Wednesday, argued that most commercial banks’ headquarters are situated in Lagos, hence the movement of the CBN’s offices to the south-western state.

“The movement of FAAN, an agency of Aviation Ministry, to Lagos, where it was located before former Minister of Aviation, Hadi Sirika, moved it to Abuja during the last administration, does not amount to moving the Federal Capital to Lagos,” he said.

“The administrative move should have ordinarily attracted scant attention, as Lagos is the commercial capital and the hub of aviation business in Nigeria. FAAN will still maintain some presence in Abuja. It is not a wholesale movement.

“Similarly, the movement of the Department of Banking Supervision of the CBN to Lagos should not trigger any discord within the polity. The department concerned deals with commercial banks, almost all of which have their headquarters in Lagos.

“All those pushing this campaign of falsehood and misinformation know they are merely playing politics, albeit a dangerous politics, to pit the North against the South.”

Onanuga said many parastatals are not based in Abuja depending on their mandate.

For instance, the headquarters of the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) and Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA), are in Lagos, he said.

“In the same vein, the headquarters of National Inland Waterways Authority( NIWA) is in Lokoja, while that of the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB), was commissioned by former President Muhammadu Buhari is in Yenagoa, Bayelsa State,” he added.

“It must be pointed out that these decisions are purely administrative that should not be politicized by people of goodwill and those who wish our country well.

“President Tinubu-led administration is working tirelessly to be just and equitable to every section of the country.”

Onanuga, therefore, urged restraint “on the part of those whose stock in trade is to create all manner of dangerous rumours to distract every government from the noble objective of meeting the yearnings and aspirations of Nigerians”.

He said Nigerians desire nothing but good governance that positively impacts their lives, adding that rumour-mongering “is a pernicious disservice to this ultimate expectation of our people”.