A prominent chieftain of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), Yekini Nabena has called on president Bola Tinubu to consider relocating the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) to the Niger Delta region.
He made the call in reaction to the recent announcement by the Federal Government about the plan to move certain departments of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), and the Federal Airport Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) out of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Abuja to Lagos.
Nabena criticized the decision saying that Tinubu has never believed in ‘One Nigeria’.
The former Deputy National Publicity Secretary of the APC suggested that the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development should be relocated to Benue State, where agricultural produce is abundant, in order to justify the decision to move some departments out of FCT.
Referring to an interview Tinubu gave in 1997, Nabena insisted that Tinubu never believed in the concept of one Nigeria before becoming President.
He emphasized the need for the Presidency to provide clear reasons for relocating these agencies rather than offering flimsy excuses.
Nabena stressed that federal agencies are symbols of Nigerian unity and should be treated with utmost importance.
“If efficiency of these agencies is the main reason for the plan to relocate them to Lagos State, we from the Niger Delta are also asking that the NNPCL, NIMASA, NPA and others will be more effective in either Bayelsa, Rivers or Delta states.
“In the same way, the Federal Ministry of Mines and Steel should be moved to Kogi State, where we have the Ajaokuta Steel for efficiency.
“I also believe that the Federal Ministry of Trade and Investment should either be relocated to Kano or Anambra states where trade is done in high proportion.
“In the same way, the Federal Ministry of Agriculture should be taken to Benue State, the food basket of the nation,” Daily Post quoted Nabena saying in a statement issued on Wednesday (today).
The APC chieftain was taken aback by the silence of the National Assembly regarding certain ongoing events in the nation.
He emphasized that the leadership of the 10th Assembly is responsible for disclosing the source of the Christmas funds they distributed to the Nigerian public.
Nabena said: “Nigeria is being looted within six months of this government, and the National Assembly is keeping quiet as if nothing is happening.
“The National Assembly has not seen anything wrong in the Betta Edu scandal where billions of our patrimony is being played with.”