Those Opposing Relocation Of FAAN, CBN Departments To Lagos Are Mischief Makers – VP Shettima Hits Ndume, Northern Elders

Vice President, Kashim Shettima has said those opposing the relocation of some departments and units of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) from Abuja to Lagos are mischief makers.

He said they are championing regional and ethnic agenda while the administration of President Bola Tinubu is working to unite the country on the path of progress.

There have been disapproval and protests against the planned relocation of some CBN departments and FAAN offices to Lagos, which the government said are for administrative convenience.

Senator Ali Ndume, the Borno lawmaker, a state Shettima is from, had in the past week threatened the president of political consequences should he see through the plans.

His attack on the administration bolstered other northern elements who also warned the president of severe consequences of such policy moves.

But Shettima, while speaking in his state of Borno as a Special Guest of Honour at the 10th Annual Sir Ahmadu Bello Memorial Lecture and Merit Awards, countered the arguments noting that the country’s interest was paramount and was well considered before the relocations plans were announced.

He said the administration will not pander to ethnic or sectional interest at the detriment of some regions.

The Vice President who’s represented by his Special Adviser on Political Matters, Dr. Hakeem Baba-Ahmed, once spokesman of the Northern Elders Forum, extolled the virtue of the late Sir Ahmadu Bello, the Sardauna of Sokoto, saying he lived a worthy life of emulation for the betterment of the North in particular and Nigeria in general.

While speaking on the theme: ‘Creating Pathways for Peace: Tackling Banditry and Insurgency through Good Governance for Sustainable Development in Nigeria’, Shettima said the theme of the lecture was apt and timely in view of the security challenges confronting the country.

Borno State has been under the scourge of insurgency for over a decade. Shettima was governor of the state for eight years when insurgents ran riots and brought the state to its knees.

His time as governor would always be remembered for the abduction of hundreds of school girls called the Chibok Girls school abduction.

He was chiefly blamed for ignoring security reports that schools especially in Chibok should not be opened considering the security challenges.

More than half of the abducted girls have not been rescued.

But Shettima said the administration is charting a new course to rein in worsening insecurity.

“The event (memorial lecture), in line with President Tinubu’s vision, has brought about many critical stakeholders, including traditional rulers to collectively brainstorm and chart a new way forward in bringing lasting solutions to end insecurity, banditry, kidnapping, poverty, corruption and all other social vices in the region and the nation in general,” he said.

He said, “Recently, there were those opposing the federal government’s decision over the planned relocation of some departments and units of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) from Abuja to Lagos. I want to reassure the people of the North that the move is in the interest of the generality of Nigerians.

“President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s ‘Renewed Hope Agenda’ would not make any policy or decision that would be sectional, or at the detriment of some geographical location of the nation; therefore, those opposing the relocation process of some of the departments should desist, or else they are acting as mischief makers,” Shettima stated.