CBN, FAAN Offices’ Relocation: Ndume Spoke For Himself — Kogi Senator

The Senator representing Kogi West senatorial district, Sunday Karimi, has reacted to the call by the Senate Chief Whip, Senator Ali Ndume, on President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to stop the planned relocation of some departments of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) from Abuja to Lagos.

LEADERSHIP reports that Ndume, in a Television interview on Tuesday, had warned Tinubu that there would be political consequences for his action, claiming that the President was being misled by a cartel of ‘Lagos Boys.’

But, Senator Karimi described Ndume’s position as “personal and does not in any way represents a position taken by the Senate.”

The Kogi West lawmaker, who spoke in Lokoja on Wednesday, noted that it was needless attaching ethnic or other sentiments to the planned relocation of the government offices, which Karimi said was done for cohesion and better delivery of services.

The Senator stated, “Leaders need to avoid utterances that will heat up the polity and cause division and disaffection amongst the federating units of the country.

“For example, the headquarters of 96 per cent of all banks in Nigeria is in Lagos. The staff of the Banking and Supervision Department of the Central Bank often travel to Lagos to check their books at the headquarters. It will, therefore, save the cost to have that directorate in Lagos.

“Also, Lagos remains the hub of aviation in Nigeria; for operational efficiency, it is better to have FAAN in Lagos.

“What is important to our people in the North and Nigerians as a whole is how decisions of government will affect their lives positively and put food on their table at cheaper prices.

“They are not bothered by any ethnic sentiments on the relocation of offices of federal ministries and agencies.

“Senator Ndume’s position is personal and doesn’t represent the position of the Nigerian Senate.”

Recall that the Northern Senators Forum (NSF) had not taken a formal decision on the issue, preferring to engage with relevant authorities and persons in order to get the true picture of the situation.

During the forum’s last meeting, where the issue was raised, the NSF members urged caution against taking a hasty position, calling for a full investigation to be conducted before any intervention, including possible legal processes if the need be.

“When this issue was raised for discussion on the platform of Northern Senators Forum, the Chairman of the Forum, Sen. Abdul Ningi, cautioned on the need to exercise restraints. That no one should jump into conclusion or read political meanings into the decision.

“There is the need for a proper investigation before taking a position.

“I want to believe that our President, Sen. Bola Ahmed Tinubu, will not act in any way to undermine any section of the country, the decision would have been made for the cohesiveness of units within such organisations,” Karimi qouted one member of the Forum as saying.