The Presidency has dismissed insinuations that President Bola Tinubu is subtly moving the Federal Capital from Abuja to Lagos.
This insinuation has been fuelled by the recent movement of some departments of the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria, FAAN, and the Central Bank of Nigeria to Lagos as well as similar comments by Chief Whip of the Senate, Ali Ndume.
Reacting, Special Adviser to President Tinubu, Bayo Onanuga dismissed the rumour and condemned its peddlers for playing dirty politics by spreading falsehoods to pit the North against the South.
He clarified that President Tinubu would continue to see Abuja as the capital while the overall intention of the relocation was to place regulators closer to the industries they oversee.
The Statement partly read; “The movement of FAAN, a department of 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 no where 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.
“All those pushing this campaign of falsehood know they are playing politics, albeit a dangerous politics to pit the North against the South.”
