Relocation Of Seat Of Power To Lagos: Onanuga Warns Ethnic Champions

By Akinwale Kasali

The Presidency has said there is no plan whatsoever to relocate the Federal Capital to Lagos from Abuja.

A post by Bayo Onanuga, Special Adviser on Information and Strategy to President Tinubu, on his X handle (formerly Twitter), stated that “there is no iota of truth in this, that it is just a figment of imagination from mischief makers.”

According to Onanuga, those peddling the rumours are dishonest, ethnic and regional champions, trying to draw attention to themselves.

He said that those pushing the campaign of falsehood know they are playing politics, albeit dangerous politics to pitch the North against the South.

Onanuga said Abuja has come to stay as it is backed by law.

His statement comes after the recent relocation of FAAN, a department of the Aviation Ministry, to Lagos.

Onanuga said there are many parastatals that are not based in Abuja depending on their mandate, insisting that administrative decisions should not be politicized.

The statement reads, “President Tinubu has no plan whatsoever to move the Federal Capital to Lagos. The rumour first surfaced during the campaign last year by opponents looking for all manners of weapons to stop him. We trashed it.

“Those peddling it anew are dishonest, ethnic and regional champions, trying to draw attention to themselves. Abuja has come to stay. It is backed by law.

“ The movement of FAAN, a department of the 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 nowhere 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.

“There are many parastatals that are not based in Abuja depending on their mandate. NIMASA is in Lagos. So is NPA. The National Inland Waterways Authority( NIWA) is in Lokoja, not Abuja. Will the people opposing the movement of FAAN and some CBN departments want those agencies to be in Abuja, where there is no single port and no maritime activity?

“ Administrative decisions should not be politicized. Let it not look like whenever we are temporarily not at the helm of affairs, we create all manners of dangerous rumours to distract from the bigger picture and emasculate an administration led by a Southerner.

“Let’s stop the dirty politics. We can’t be playing politics with everything.”