A former deputy national publicity secretary of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Hon. Yekini Nabena, has asked President Bola Tinubu to approve the relocation of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) to the Niger Delta region.
He also urged Tinubu to move the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development to Benue State, where agricultural produce is abundant, to justify the plot to move the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and the Federal Airport Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) out of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).
Grow your business with us
The federal government had indicated interest in moving part of CBN key units and FAAN to Lagos State for the efficiency of its activities. The development has, however, generated a lot of debate in support and against, especially among the Northern elite and leaders.
Nabena, who suspected evil intentions for making such moves, said the current President Bola Tinubu did not believe in one Nigeria before he emerged as president.
The APC chieftain, in a statement released in Abuja yesterday, insisted that federal agencies are symbols of Nigerian unity and should not be played with.
While referring to an interview Tinubu granted and published on April 11, 1997, titled ‘I don’t believe in one Nigeria—Tinubu’, he said the presidency must come out clear on the real reasons for the relocation of the two affected agencies and not the flimsy excuses given so far.
Nabena said, “If the efficiency of these agencies is the main reason for the plan to relocate them to Lagos State, we from the Niger Delta are also asking that the NNPCL, NIMASA, NPA, and others will be more effective in either Bayelsa, Rivers, or Delta States. In the same way, the Federal Ministry of Mine and Steel should be moved to Kogi State, where we have the Ajaokuta Steel Company, for efficiency.
“I also believe that the Federal Ministry of Trade and Investment should either be relocated to Kano or Anambra states, where trade is done in high proportion. In the same way, the Federal Ministry of Agriculture should be taken to Benue State, the food basket of the nation,” he said.
The APC chieftain said the issue of oil companies relocating to the oil-producing Niger Delta region had been debated severally in the Nigerian Senate, with the companies not heeding the calls.
“The Senate had asked International Oil Companies (IOCs) to relocate their headquarters to the Niger Delta region to fast-track the host communities’ economic development, but some powerful interests in Lagos are preventing this for their selfish interests,” he said.
The APC chieftain also expressed shock that the National Assembly is keeping quiet over some developments ongoing in the country, adding that the leadership of the 10th Assembly must tell the Nigerian public where the Christmas money they shared came from.
He said, “Nigeria has been looted within six months of this government, and the National Assembly is keeping quiet as if nothing is happening. The National Assembly has not seen anything wrong with the ongoing, well-reported Betta Edu scandal, where billions of our patrimony is being played with.
“This National Assembly must also tell Nigerians the source of money and bags of rice they shared for Christmas, if it was budgeted for or not; we deserve to know,” Nabena said.