If FAAN relocates to Lagos because of passenger traffic, Ministry of Commerce must also move to Onitsha or Kano, says ACF board chairman to Tinubu 

The agitation against relocation of the headquarters of Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) from Abuja to Lagos, continues to hots up.

 

On Monday, chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Arewa Consultative Forum ACF, Bashir Dalhatu, reacted to the decision of the Federal government to move some departments in the FAAN to Lagos. 

 

 

 

While speaking on Arise TV news, Dalhatu said if the Federal government argues that the decision to move FAAN is based on the fact that most airlines operate from Lagos, then the Ministry of Commerce should be moved to Onitsha, Anambra state or Kano state that are considered the commercial hubs in Nigeria.

 

 

 

His words: ‘’If you talk about transferring FAAN to Lagos because there are more airline activities in Lagos than in Abuja, then you should take the Ministry of Commerce to Onitsha or Kano because there are far more commercial activities in Onitsha and Kano than in Abuja

 

“You should take the Ministry of Education or Agriculture to Makurdi where there is a lot of Agricultural activities and food production. You can distribute these Ministries to Locations according to the kind of activity you can identify.

 

“But that is not the intention or reason or purpose of establishing a Federal Capital Territory. It supposed to be in itself a symbol of unity, a symbol of togetherness of this country. The moment you start dismembering Ministries back to Lagos, first you are establishing a precedence which means next government that comes on and doesn’t happen to come from the South will now return them or transfer them back to Abuja  or Sokoto or Kano or Calabar.”

 

Some lawmakers from under the banner of Northern Senators Forum (NSF) have weighed into the agitation of rejecting the relocation of some departments of FAAN to Lagos, saying they would engage President Bola Ahmed Tinubu on it. 

 

The lawmakers said they were committed to addressing the concerns and feelings of their constituents in the North regarding the decisions and policies put forth by the federal government, including seeking a legal redress if possible.