The Presidency has refuted the rumors of the Federal Government’s intention to move the capital of Nigeria back to Lagos.
The Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Mr. Bayo Onanuga, dismissed the speculations, attributing them to the misinterpretation of the Central Bank of Nigeria’s decision to relocate its Department of Banking Supervision to Lagos and the Ministry of Aviation and Aerospace Development’s directive for the Federal Airport Authority of Nigeria to move its head office back to Lagos.
The announcement comes in the wake of widespread concerns and opposition to the relocation of key government departments to Lagos. The Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF) and the Northern Senators Forum (NSF) have both expressed disapproval of the move, with the latter calling for a reversal of the decision.
In a statement released on Wednesday, the Presidency emphasized that there are no plans to transfer the federal capital to Lagos, dispelling the notion as a product of political maneuvering during the previous election cycle.
It called for 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.”
The statement reads in full:
“We have noticed how mischief-makers, bent on fueling needless ethnic mistrust, have deliberately misinterpreted the decision of the Central Bank of Nigeria to relocate its Department of Banking Supervision to Lagos and the directive of the Ministry of Aviation and Aerospace Development that the Federal Airport Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) should relocate its head office back to Lagos.
“We consider it necessary to inform Nigerians that there is no iota of truth in the interpretations given to the directives in some quarters and the unfounded claims and rumours that President Bola Tinubu is planning to relocate the Federal Capital back to Lagos.
“These rumours, which first surfaced during the electioneering last year, was sponsored by political opponents looking for all manners of weapons to prevent Asiwaju Tinubu from being elected as president by a section of the country.
“Those behind this renewed sordid narrative, using the recent decision of the CBN and FAAN as pretext to start another round of toxic opposition are dishonest ethnic and regional champions, trying to draw attention to themselves.
“The status of Abuja as the Federal Capital has come to stay. It is backed by law.
“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.
“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.
“There are many parastatals that are not based in Abuja depending on their mandate. The headquarters of the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) and Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA), for example, are in Lagos. 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.
“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. We urge 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.
“Our citizens desire nothing but good governance that positively impacts their lives. Rumour mongering is a pernicious disservice to this ultimate expectation of our people.”
