A coalition of pro-democracy northern organizations, the Joint-Action Northern Youth Associations, comprising 16 civil society groups, has vehemently rejected the relocation of key departments of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and the headquarters of the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) to Lagos by the President Bola Tinubu-led administration.
The association, including groups such as the Arewa Defence League, Association of Northern Nigeria Students, and Arewa Young Women Rights Advocate Council, warned that failure to rescind the decision, they would mass mobilise youths across the 19 northern states for extensive action against the administration.
The CBN recently announced the relocation of certain departments to Lagos, citing congestion at the head office. Additionally, the Federal Government revealed the relocation of FAAN’s headquarters from Abuja to Lagos, officially communicated by the Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Festus Keyamo.
Speaking at a joint press conference at the Arewa House in Kaduna, Alhaji Murtala Abubakar, the Convener of the Joint-Action Committee of Northern Youth Associations, declared the relocation of the two agencies illegal, null, and void.
He argued that such actions disrespected the law and created a sense of alienation and exclusion for northerners.
Abubakar emphasised that the North would explore all available means, including legal, political, and mass action, to compel the government to rescind the decision.
The coalition called on the Federal Government to prevail on the two agencies to reverse their decisions immediately and maintain the status quo of the CBN and FAAN headquarters in Abuja, the Federal Capital Territory.
He cautioned that the coalition would resist the actions through various means, stressing that any attempt to undermine Abuja as the Federal Capital and the seat of government would not be tolerated.
“We will not allow any attempt to undermine the status and integrity of Abuja as the Federal Capital and the seat of government.
“We also request the Federal Government to ensure that all federal institutions and agencies are adequately funded and staffed in Abuja.
“We are not against Lagos or any other part of the country, but we are against any form of discrimination, dominion and marginalisation of any part of the country,” he said.
