The Arewa Youth Consultative Forum (AYCF), has kicked against the relocation of some key departments of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) to Lagos.
In a statement on Friday in Kaduna, Yerima Shettima, president of the forum, said the relocations undermines the status of Abuja as the nation’s capital city.
He added that the action may have negative implication for the country as a whole.
Shettima said, “this move risks undermining national unity, disrupting operations, causing economic setbacks, and perpetuating regional imbalances.”
He noted that, Abuja was deliberately chosen as the nation’s capital to promote national unity and decentralise power, warning that, “Any agenda that seeks to tamper with this arrangement will be fiercely resisted by AYCF and its supporters.”
The forum expressed “disappointment with the complicit silence of the Northern elite regarding these provocation”.
He said the “Northern elite must not be silent when the political and economic viability of the North is at stake”.
Shettima urged “well-meaning Nigerians to speak out against this emerging arbitrariness.”
The group also called on relevant authorities to reconsider these proposed relocations in light of the potential harm they may cause to Abuja’s status as the capital city and the nation as a whole.
The AYCF further urged policy makers to prioritise national unity and avoid any action will perpetuate regional imbalances or compromise the political and economic viability of the north.
Shettima added that the AYCF remains committed to its mission of promoting unity and development in Northern Nigeria and the nation as a whole, stressing that the group will continue to advocating for the preservation of Abuja’s status as the nation’s capital city.
