By; BASHIR BELLO DOLLARS, Abuja
A frontline group with membership all over Nigeria, National Youth Alliance (NYA) has questioned the motive behind the relocation of key federal government agencies and parastatal, as well as departments of Apex bank, Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) from the nation’s capital, Abuja, back to a congested Lagos.
NYA expressed this in a statement signed by Okpani Jacob Onjewu Dickson, SA Media and Publicity to the President of the alliance, Ambassador Aliyu Bin Abbas, made available to newsmen in Kaduna on Friday January 19, 2024.
“NYA President, Ambassador Aliyu is strongly worried that at this time that the nation needs to be healed from perceived division and cleansed of ethnic, religious and regional sentiments, such decisions to undermine our unity as a people is being taken.
“Such moves are insensitive and do not speak well of the present administration as it makes it look as if a regional agenda is being pursued against collective interests of all Nigerians,” the statement said.
The alliance frowned at the relocation of key departments of the Central Bank of Nigeria from its head quarters in Abuja to Lagos, wondering why such should be priority at this time when Nigeria’s economy is suffering serious set backs.
“While we were trying to digest the controversy surrounding CBN’s relocation of some departments, we woke up today to the news of relocation of Federal Airport Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) to Lagos, as reported by the New Nigerian Newspapers on its front page.
“We are calling on President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to call his appointees to order and ensure the sanctity of the nation’s capital. Who knows, tomorrow we might wake up to hear that NNPC Towers is being relocated. Nigeria’s unity, which Abuja stands for should be considered first,” the statement said.
The group however, called on all youth in the country to remain patriotic and law abiding, putting politicians who always want to divide them on ethnic or religious lines to shame.
