The Presidency has refuted claims alleging that President Bola Tinubu has intentions to relocate the federal capital to Lagos. Speculation arose following the relocation of the Federal Airport Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) headquarters and the Department of Banking Supervision in the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to Lagos.
In a statement issued on Wednesday by Bayo Onanuga, the Special Adviser to Tinubu on Information and Strategy, the Presidency dismissed these rumors, emphasizing their baselessness. The statement addressed the deliberate misinterpretation of the Central Bank of Nigeria’s decision to move its Department of Banking Supervision to Lagos and the Ministry of Aviation and Aerospace Development’s directive for FAAN to relocate its head office back to Lagos.
The statement clarified, “There is no iota of truth in the interpretations given to the directives in some quarters and the unfounded claims and rumors that President Bola Tinubu is planning to relocate the Federal Capital back to Lagos.”
The Presidency attributed these rumors to political opponents who sought to undermine Tinubu during the previous election and accused them of attempting to stoke ethnic mistrust. Emphasizing the permanence of Abuja as the Federal Capital, the statement asserted that the recent administrative moves of FAAN and the CBN’s Department of Banking Supervision do not signify a relocation of the Federal Capital to Lagos.
The statement highlighted that the movement of FAAN back to Lagos, where it was originally located, is an administrative decision within the Aviation Ministry, and FAAN will maintain some presence in Abuja. Similarly, the relocation of the Department of Banking Supervision of the CBN to Lagos was characterized as a routine administrative move, given that most commercial banks have their headquarters in Lagos.
The Presidency cautioned against the politicization of administrative decisions, emphasizing that various parastatals, such as the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) and the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA), have their headquarters in Lagos, while others, like the National Inland Waterways Authority (NIWA), are based in different locations.
The statement urged restraint from those propagating falsehoods and misinformation, asserting that President Tinubu’s administration is committed to being just and equitable to every section of the country. It called for unity and cautioned against attempts to distract the government from its objectives of meeting the aspirations of Nigerians.
