The Katsina State Elders Forum has expressed displeasure over the planned decision to relocate some departments of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and crucial projects to Lagos State.
It also asked President Bola Tinubu to stop the scheduled relocation of the ongoing expansion project of the Umaru Musa Yar’adua International Airport in Nigeria’s best interest.
Speaking at a press conference held on Wednesday in the state capital, the Secretary of the Forum, Aliyu Mohammed, described the decision as unwarranted and unconstitutional.
Mohammed said President Tinubu risks losing the support of northern Nigeria unless the relocation of some CBN departments to Lagos is halted, adding that the move is a deliberate attempt to cripple the economy of the North.
He said: “The briefing is on recent unfortunate development brought up which we want the Federal Government to address.
“The intention of the Federal Government to move important projects from the Katsina Airport to Lagos, according to a letter we saw written by a contractor suggesting to the minister of aviation that the hanger project from the Katsina Airport should be moved to the south suggesting places like Enugu, Calabar or Lagos.
“This must be instigated by either the minister of aviation or one of his closest. They intend to do that for no disclosed reason. The reasons given to us were so clumsy. They mentioned things like unskilled labour, the distance between Lagos and Katsina, and lack of water, among other reasons.
“This project was awarded by the previous government in the year 2022 when the contractors moved to the site and started the job. They commenced work in earnest.
“It’s very surprising and unfortunate that the same contractor who initially agreed to do the job wrote a letter to the minister of aviation seeking for relocation of this very important project from Katsina to Lagos.
“We are calling on President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, the minister of aviation, and whoever is responsible that the Katsina Elders’ Forum is vehemently opposed to this relocation decision.
“We are not ready to accept it and we are warning the Federal Government never to temper with this all-important project. There is a University of Transportation located in Daura that could be very relevant to this all-important project in Katsina.
“Another area of concern is the movement of the Central Bank of Nigeria’s about 11 critical departments. This is a deliberate attempt to cripple the economy of the North. All these departments they intend to move out of Abuja will make it difficult for the North and Northerners to access the facilities or the services rendered by the bank.
“We are calling on President Tinubu to as a matter of urgency reverse the decision otherwise, the north definitely will not move again. They have set some reasons that are unattainable. It’s unwise for Tinubu to come today after the North elected him into power to make these decisions. He is going against the constitution of Nigeria.
“We are therefore warning him to reverse these unwarranted and unconstitutional decisions. Whoever is advising the President to make such decisions is an enemy of the country and is not interested in Nigeria’s development
“We are not ready to reelect him in 2027 once he continues with these decisions. Despite all the challenges of insecurity in the North, Tinubu is not making any effort to curb the insecurity. The Forum on behalf of Northern Nigeria and Nigerians in general want President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to revisit the decision and have a rethink
“He should rejig his cabinet by bringing patriotic Nigerians that will advise him to work in accordance with the interest of Nigerians.”
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