A pan-Yoruba organization, Yoruba Professionals Foundation (YPF), has strongly condemned the objections raised by some northern leaders regarding the decision to relocate the headquarters of the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) and the Department of Banking Supervision of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to Lagos State.
The group’s Director of Administration, Oladapo Kayode, in a statement issued on Monday, termed the criticisms as “very unfortunate, dishonourable, outrageous, and irresponsible.”
YPF stressed that Nigeria is a collective heritage of all its citizens, not just the North. The critics of the relocation were labeled as “ethnic entrepreneurs and divisive elements” pretending to be Northern leaders.
The group argued that moving the Department of Banking Supervision of the CBN to Lagos is logical, considering that 90% of Nigerian bank headquarters are located there.
Additionally, they pointed out that the FAAN headquarters, initially in Lagos, was moved to Abuja by the former Minister of Aviation, Hadi Sirika, despite Lagos being the hub of 80% of Nigeria’s air transportation businesses.
The statement also noted the presence of significant government institutions in Northern Nigeria, such as the National Examination Council (NECO) in Minna, Niger State, and the National Inland Waterways Authority (NIWA) in Lokoja, Kogi State.
The group stressed the strategic military locations in Daura, Katsina State, and the concentration of Nigerian Military formations in Kaduna State, noting that despite the South owning 90% of the resources used to build these formations, there had been acceptance in the public interest.
YPF’s statement drew international parallels to justify its position. It cited the Republic of Benin, where the National Assembly is in Porto-Novo and the Presidential Villa in Cotonou, and the United States, where Washington DC is the capital, but New York houses major organizations and federal agencies.
The statement also referenced the United Kingdom, where the UK Visa Office for Africa is in Sheffield, and South Africa, with its three different capitals for administration, commerce, and judiciary.
The statement read in part, “90% of the headquarters of the Nigerian Military formations are in Kaduna State, Northern Nigeria. Nigerians from the South who own 90% of the resources used to build the formations sited against the principle of federal character in the North accepted everything in public interest but a relocation from Abuja to Lagos done in public interest is generating hues and cries from ethnic merchants from the North.
“We also need to inform these regional jesters that Nigeria is a federal state; therefore, any part of the country can host the office of any agency of government. For instance, in the international scene, the National Assembly of the Republic of Benin is situated in Port Novo while the Presidential Villa and Supreme Court are in Cotonou.
“In the United States, where we borrowed our liberal democracy from, Washington DC is the Capital, but New York is her commercial headquarters with several multinationals and international organizations such as the United Nations, International Monetary Fund (IMF), United Nations Children’s Emergency Fund (UNICEF), etc.
“Additionally, the headquarters of the United States Army Corps of Engineers, Bureau of Labor Statistics, Department of Housing and Urban Development, Environmental Protection Agency, Geological Survey, Foreign Reserve, etc. are all situated in New York, a region like Lagos in Nigeria to the United States people.”
It added, “In Britain, the headquarters of the United Kingdom Visa Office for Africa is based in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, just as South Africa has three different capitals for administration, commerce, and judiciary.
“We are therefore warning these desperate charlatans to desist from their myopic attacks on President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and his policies; failure to which we shall start engaging them as they deserve.”
The group warned those opposing the relocation to cease their “myopic attacks” on President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and his policies. YPF clarified that these critics do not represent the progressive people from the North who support President Tinubu’s administration.
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