Relocation: Northern youths fault CBN, FAAN
By: Juliet Vincentk
A coalition of 16 Northern youth groups, tagged the Joint-Action Committee of Northern Youth Associations, has faulted the recent move to relocate some departments of the Central Bank and headquarters of FAAN from Abuja to Lagos.
Addressing the press recently at the Conference Hall of the Arewa House in Kaduna, the coalition, led by Murtala Abubakar, Convener of the event; Hashim Tom Maiyashi, Director, Public Communication and Strategy, and Ms. Latifa Abdussalam, Director, Gender Mobilization, rued the move by the two Federal Government outfits.
“We express our strong opposition and concern over the proposal to relocate five critical departments of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN); an institution that serves as the bedrock of our economic stability and financial governance, and on the purported relocation of the Headquarters of the Federal Airports Authority (FAAN) by the Federal Ministry of Aviation from Abuja, the Federal Capital Territory of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, to Lagos State,’ the group said.
According to them, the coalition was unified by a collective concern that echoes the sentiments of millions who call the diverse and culturally rich Northern region of Nigeria home.
They argued that they represent the voices and interests of millions of young people from the Northern region of the country, who are deeply affected by these decisions, and believe that “these decisions are not only unjustified, but also detrimental to the economic, social and political development of the Northern region and the nation as a whole.”
The youths questioned the rationale behind the relocation of the most critical CBN departments, which are vital functions that regulate and oversee the financial sector of the country that is largely concentrated in Lagos.
“By moving these departments to Lagos State, the CBN is effectively creating a monopoly and a bias in favour of the financial institutions based in Lagos, while neglecting and marginalizing the ones in other parts of the country, especially the North. “
According to the youths, the CBN’s claim that the relocation was to decongest the apex bank’s head office in Abuja, does not hold water, as the CBN could have easily expanded its office space in Abuja or distribute its staff to other regions, instead of concentrating them in Lagos.
Similarly, the coalition condemned the decision of the Federal Ministry of Aviation to relocate the FAAN headquarters to Lagos, “which is a clear violation of the Federal Character Principle enshrined in the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. The FAAN is a statutory agency that manages and operates all the airports in the country, not just the ones in Lagos. By moving its headquarters to Lagos, the FAAN is undermining the federal structure of the country and the principle of equal representation and participation of all the states and regions in the governance and administration of the country.”
“This will also have negative implications for the security, safety and efficiency of the airports in other parts of the country, especially the North, which are already facing challenges of underdevelopment, underfunding and underutilization,” they said.
For the coalition, the claim by FAAN, that the relocation would help prevent waste of public resources and enhance service delivery is not only contradictory but grossly misleading, as the relocation will actually increase the cost and reduce the quality of the FAAN services.
“The relocation will require the FAAN to rent a new office in Lagos or rollout process of building a new complex to accommodate all its directors and staff for billions of Naira of public funds. The relocation will also create disconnect between the FAAN and the Federal Government, which is based in Abuja, and affect the oversight and regulation of the FAAN activities. Moreover, the relocation will create a bias and favoritism towards airports in Lagos, which already account for more than 60% of the passenger volume of the country while neglecting and marginalizing the airports in other regions, especially the North, which needs more attention and investment.
According to the youths, their collective voices echoe the concerns of those who fear that these decisions, presumably made with the intention of addressing congestion and operational efficiency, may inadvertently set in motion a series of consequences that transcend the boardrooms of the Central Bank and the FAAN.
“Unless Nigeria is now saddled with a crop of leaders unfolding an unholy agenda for the dismemberment of the Nigerian state, we fail to understand how in this 21st century challenges of office space or the desire of operational efficiency can simply be addressed by relocation from Abuja to Lagos. If there are genuine concerns surrounding possible congestion at the CBN or the desire for operational efficiency at both the CBN and FAAN, there are a number of innovative, regionally inclusive, and economically viable alternatives that preserve the geographical diversity and balanced development of our nation,” the youths conclude.
