Arewa youths comprising the pro-democracy northern organization, the Joint-Action Northern Youth Associations, have rejected the relocation of key departments of the Central Bank of Nigeria and the headquarters of the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria to Lagos by the President Bola Tinubu-led administration.
The Arewa Defense League, the Association of Northern Nigeria Students, the Arewa Youth for Development and National Unity, the Arewa Young Women Rights Advocate Council, the Northern Youth in Defence of Democracy, and the Arewa Radio and Television Commentators, among others, all spoke out against the decision.
According to the alliance, if Tinubu’s government fails to withdraw the decision, they would be forced to gather youths throughout the 19 northern states for a huge anti-administration protest.
The Central Bank of Nigeria has announced the move of some departments to Lagos, citing congestion at its headquarters.
Similarly, the Federal Government has announced the move of FAAN’s headquarters from Abuja to Lagos.
Festus Keyamo, Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, officially confirmed the move in a memo dated January 15, 2024, which was signed by FAAN’s Managing Director, Mrs. Olubunmi Kuku.
However, Alhaji Murtala Abubakar, convener of the Joint Action Committee of Northern Youth Associations, called the relocation of the two agencies to Lagos unconstitutional, null, and void at a joint press conference held on Monday at Arewa House in Kaduna.
Abubakar contended that by transferring the two agencies to Lagos, the Federal Government not only violated the law but also created a sense of alienation and isolation among northerners.
He stated that the North will use all available methods, including legal, political, and public action, to ensure that the government reverses the decision to relocate the two agencies to Lagos.
He urged the Federal Government to prevail on two agencies to reverse their decisions immediately and “restore the status quo of the CBN and the FAAN headquarters in Abuja, the Federal Capital Territory.”
“We wish to assure the Federal Government that such actions will not go unchallenged. We will resist them through all available means, including legal, political, and civil actions.
“We will not allow any attempt to undermine the status and integrity of Abuja as the Federal Capital and the seat of government.
“We also request the Federal Government to ensure that all federal institutions and agencies are adequately funded and staffed in Abuja.
“We are not against Lagos or any other part of the country, but we are against any form of discrimination, dominion, and marginalization of any part of the country,” he said.
