Relocation Of FAAN Headquarters From Abuja To Lagos,  AYCF Kicks

By Akinwale Kasali

The decision by the Federal Ministry of Aviation to relocate the headquarters of the  Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria, FAAN, from the Federal Capital Territory, FCT, Abuja to Lagos Capital drawn the ire of the Arewa Youth Consultative Forum, AYCF.

The body has strongly kicked against the relocation of some key departments of the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN and the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria, FAAN, Headquarters to Lagos. It said the relocations undermine the status of Abuja as the Nation’s capital city.

Yerima Shettima, AYCF President, said that the action may have negative implication for the country as a whole, as the move risks undermining national unity, disrupting operations, causing economic setbacks, and perpetuating regional imbalances.

He noted that, Abuja was deliberately chosen as the nation’s capital to promote national unity and decentralise power, warning that, “Any agenda that seeks to tamper with this arrangement will be fiercely resisted by AYCF and its supporters.”

Speaking further, Shettima expressed disappointment with the complicit silence of the Northern elite concerning what he regards as a provocative move.

He said the “Northern elite must not be silent when the political and economic viability of the North is at stake”. Shettima urged “well-meaning Nigerians to speak out against this emerging arbitrariness.”

But in response to the AYCF stance, FAAN Management said the decision to relocate its Corporate office from Abuja to its original base, Lagos, was made in the best interest of the country.

In a statement signed by the Director, Public Affairs and Consumer Protection, FAAN, Obiageli Orah, it cited some reasons why the decision is in the best interest of Nigeria. They include lack of office space, and payment of duty allowance, among others.

Orah stated: ”The Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria notes the inquiries some Nigerians have made regarding the directive of the Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Mr. Festus Keyamo, SAN, CON, to relocate the corporate Headquarters of FAAN from Abuja to its original base, Lagos, where it has operated for decades until recently.

“FAAN wishes to inform Nigerians that following wide consultations by the new Management of FAAN with stakeholders, which also involved the Unions, it was agreed that this was in the best interest of the Authority and the country for now for the following reasons:

“Those affected by the decision to move the headquarters to Abuja have since returned to Lagos as there is no office space for them in Abuja. It was ill-advised in the first place to move the headquarters to Abuja when there was no single FAAN building in Abuja to accommodate all of them at once.

“Having returned to Lagos, the Authority would be liable to pay them DTA (DUTY TOUR ALLOWANCE) because technically they are working OUT OF STATION as their official posting is to ABUJA. The Minister has decided to stop this waste of public resources and rip-off on the public purse.

“ The other option open to the Authority was abandon the old FAAN building in Lagos to rot away and to use its scarce resources to rent an office space in Abuja for Millions of Naira of public money when in actual fact more than sixty percent of its activities are in Lagos given the huge passenger volume of the Lagos airports. The stakeholders and the Minister decided against that and to save the country this waste.”

She added, ”The Minister has rolled out plans to get concessionaires to build befitting offices for the Authority in Lagos and Abuja and until that is done, the Authority will continue to manage its old building in Lagos that can accommodate all its Directors and senior officials for now.

“Abuja continues to have full operational offices and the Authority has not scaled down operations in Abuja one bit. It is just the technical decision of where the Authority has its ‘corporate headquarters’ that has been taken without affecting the structure of operations as they are for now in both cities.

“In the near future, when befitting corporate buildings have been built for the Authority in both Lagos and Abuja, a final decision will be taken as to the location of the permanent headquarters, depending on the exigencies of the time.”

She, however, assured Nigerians that the Authority would always act in their best interest.

“The Authority wishes to assure members of the public that it will continue to act in the best interest of the public and the country.

“The Honourable Minister is committed to taking decisions that are in the best interest of the country, especially as it concerns public funds and will not yield to ethnic or sectional sentiments that will derail this commitment,” she stated.