News
Presidency Tackles Ndume Over CBN, FAAN Relocation …Denies Plan To Relocate Federal Capital To Lagos
The Presidency, on Wednesday, said the Bola Tinubu administration was not planning to relocate the Federal Capital of Nigeria back to Lagos, its previous location.
It described the insinuations as a creation of those it called “mischief-makers” bent on “fueling needless ethnic mistrust” to “pit the North against the South.”
This followed the Federal Government’s recent decision to relocate the Department of Banking Supervision of the Central Bank of Nigeria to Lagos and the directive of the Ministry of Aviation and Aerospace Development to relocate the head office of the Federal Airport Authority of Nigeria to Lagos.
Northern senators and youths have expressed displeasure over the move, which they contended was a calculated move to short-change the North.
Applifying the dissenting voices from the North, the Senator representing Borno South Senatorial, Ali Ndume, said President Tinubu was being misinformed by “political cartels” to make wrong decisions.
Ndume, who spoke during an interview with Channels Television on Tuesday, said the President was being ill-advised by “Lagos boys” in the corridors of power, stressing the planned relocation would have “political consequences.”
But responding to the northern voices on Wednesday, the Presidency in a statement by the President’s Special Adviser on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, dismissed claims that the FCT would be relocated from Abuja.
The status of Abuja as the Federal Capital has come to stay. It is backed by law,” Onanuga, said,
It argued that the “rumours” were a creation of the administration’s political opponents who failed to prevent Tinubu’s ascent to the Presidency.
Onanuga said, “We consider it necessary to inform Nigerians that there is no iota of truth in the interpretations given to the directives in some quarters and the unfounded claims and rumours that President Bola Tinubu is planning to relocate the Federal Capital back to Lagos.
“These rumours, which first surfaced during the electioneering last year, were sponsored by political opponents looking for all manners of weapons to prevent Asiwaju Tinubu from being elected as president by a section of the country.
“Those behind this renewed sordid narrative, using the recent decision of the CBN and FAAN as a pretext to start another round of toxic opposition, are dishonest ethnic and regional champions, trying to draw attention to themselves.”
Onanuga noted that FAAN, an agency of the Ministry of Aviation, was initially headquartered in Lagos before former Minister of Aviation, Hadi Sirika, moved its base to Abuja during the immediate-past administration.
He noted that this “does not amount to moving the Federal Capital to Lagos.”
FAAN will still maintain some presence in Abuja. It is not a wholesale movement,” he noted, adding that the administrative move should have ordinarily attracted scant attention, as Lagos is the commercial capital and the hub of aviation business in Nigeria.
Similarly, the Presidency said the movement of the Department of Banking Supervision of the CBN to Lagos “should not trigger any discord within the polity,” as the department concerned deals with commercial banks, almost all of which are headquartered in Lagos”.
Therefore, “All those pushing this campaign of falsehood and misinformation know they are merely playing politics, albeit a dangerous politics, to pit the North against the South,” it said.
Onanuga affirmed that the Tinubu-led administration was “working tirelessly to be just and equitable to every section of the country,” urging restraint on the part of those it called rumour mongers who “distract every government from the noble objective of meeting the yearnings and aspirations of Nigerians.”
Meanwhile, the Senator representing Kogi-West, Karimi Sunday, on Wednesday, faulted Ndume’s comments on the planned relocation.
Karimi said Ndume’s comment was personal and did not in any way represent the position of the Senate.
In a statement made available to newsmen in Abuja on Wednesday, Karimi said it was needless for Ndume to attach ethnic or other sentiments to the relocation of the offices, which he said, was done “for cohesion and better delivery of services.”
He said, “Leaders need to avoid utterances that will heat up the polity and cause division and disaffection amongst the federating units of the country,” adding, “Senator Ndume’s position is personal and doesn’t represent the position of the Nigerian Senate.”
Also, a former spokesperson for former President Goodluck Jonathan, Doyin Okupe, has cautioned Ndume.
Reacting in an open letter, Okupe said Ndume’s “pronouncement on the above subject matter is provocative and unexpected of a politician of your pedigree and position in the Nigerian polity.”
Meanwhile, a former President of the Ijaw Youth Council, Udengs Eradiri, has appealed to President Tinubu to consider the relocation of some critical federal agencies involved in the oil business to the Niger Delta region.
Eradiri, who was the Labour Party governorship candidate in last year’s Bayelsa State governorship election, said the decongestion of Abuja was long overdue.
He, therefore, urged Tinubu to compel the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited to move the headquarters of some of its subsidiaries to the capital cities of some states in the Niger Delta.
He said cities such as Yenagoa in Bayelsa, Port Harcourt in Rivers, Uyo in Akwa Ibom, and Asaba in Delta, among others, were ready to become hosts of such agencies and to ensure adequate security for them.
The Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) has sued the Federal Government at the ECOWAS Community Court of Justice over alleged diversion, irregular expenditure and failure to account for N78.8bn allocated to cash-transfer and social-protection programmes.
SERAP, in a statement released by its Deputy Director, Kolawole Oluwadare, yesterday, said the allegations involved the Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Reduction, the National Cash Transfer Office and the National Social Safety Nets Coordinating Office.
The allegations were documented in the Auditor-General of the Federation’s 2024 Annual Report, published on August 7, 2026.
According to the report, the findings covered various periods between January 2023 and December 31, 2024.
In the suit, marked ECW/CCJ/APP/42/26 and filed last week, SERAP is seeking a declaration that the government’s failure to account for the funds violates Nigeria’s international human rights obligations.
The organisation is also asking the court to order the government to provide a comprehensive account of the questioned funds, investigate the alleged irregularities, recover any money improperly spent or diverted where established, and strengthen financial oversight of social-protection programmes.
SERAP argued that the alleged financial irregularities could undermine the rights of vulnerable Nigerians to social security and an adequate standard of living, including access to food, clothing and housing.
The statement party read, “The funds were intended to benefit over 3.2 million households across 35 states, whose access to financial assistance has been affected by the allegations made by the Auditor-General.”
The suit, filed by SERAP’s lawyers, Kolawole Oluwadare and Kehinde Oyewumi, stated that the government’s failure to investigate the allegations and recover any improperly spent funds violated its obligations to protect vulnerable households.
“The failure to investigate the N78.8 billion cash-transfer scandal, account for the questioned funds and recover any unlawfully spent amounts violates Nigeria’s obligations to protect the human rights of vulnerable households,” the suit partly read.
The organisation said it instituted the case to protect affected households and ensure accountability for public funds allocated for their benefit.
“SERAP brings this public-interest case to protect the interests of affected households and ensure accountability for public funds allocated for their benefit,” it stated.
The organisation maintained that cash-transfer programmes could help address extreme poverty and enable vulnerable people to meet their basic needs, but argued that the government had a duty to ensure the funds were properly managed.
“The right to social security cannot be effectively realised merely by establishing a formal cash-transfer programme where the State fails to maintain reasonable systems for identifying beneficiaries, maintaining records, reconciling disbursements, monitoring expenditure, investigating irregularities and remedying losses,” the statement further stated.
According to SERAP, the Auditor-General questioned approximately N33.751bn reportedly transferred to more than 3.2 million households across 35 states in 2023, noting that adequate records to verify the payments and reconcile beneficiary records were not provided.
The report also identified N36.744bn in payments allegedly made without prepayment audits, N4.616bn in unsupported expenditures, N350.182m for enrolment, N89.511m for store purchases and N17.422m in diesel advances.
SERAP said the suit was brought under Article 9(4) of the ECOWAS Court Protocol to protect affected households and ensure accountability for public funds intended for social protection.
“The issue is whether the government has discharged its obligations under applicable human-rights treaties to safeguard resources allocated for social protection, investigate documented financial irregularities, provide effective remedies and ensure that those resources are applied for their intended purposes,” it stated.
The organisation also cited the constitutional responsibility of the Auditor-General to audit and report on the public accounts of the Federation and the offices and agencies of the Federal Government, describing the findings in the annual report as important official records of public expenditure.
It relied on Articles 1 and 2 of the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights, arguing that the government had obligations to give effect to protected rights and ensure that failures in administering social-protection programmes did not result in discriminatory exclusion or unequal access to benefits.
“The Nigerian government has the obligation to take effective measures to prevent and address corruption and related misuse of public resources. The government has failed to take appropriate measures in response to the allegations made by the Auditor-General”, the statement added.
SERAP said it had previously urged President Bola Tinubu and relevant authorities to account for the questioned funds, publish audit records, investigate irregular expenditures, recover any funds unlawfully spent or diverted and take appropriate action against those responsible.
Following the publication of the Auditor-General’s report, the organisation issued a public statement and sent a letter dated September 5, 2026, requesting action on the findings. It also sought payment and beneficiary records, verification documents and an explanation for the missing REMITA records.
“The deadline given to the government to address the Auditor-General’s findings had elapsed without adequate action,” it stated.
The organisation further cited Articles 1 and 21 of the African Charter, alongside Article 9 of the United Nations Convention against Corruption, as requiring effective measures to protect rights and resources, promote transparent public financial management, investigate irregularities and recover public funds where losses or improper expenditure were established.
SERAP also relied on the works of legal scholar Kolawole Olaniyan, including Corruption and Human Rights Law in Africa, published by Hart Publishing in 2014, and Ownership of Proceeds of Corruption in International Law, published by Oxford University Press in 2023. It said the publications provided persuasive academic authority on corruption’s effects on human rights, public resources, accountability and international legal remedies.
“SERAP accordingly submits that the Auditor-General’s findings cannot be treated merely as administrative irregularities where public funds allocated for social protection may have been lost, improperly spent or left unaccounted for, and the government fails to take effective corrective action,” the statement added.
SERAP is asking the court to direct the government to conduct an independent, prompt and effective investigation into the identified irregularities, recover public funds improperly spent, diverted or lost where established, and take appropriate legal or administrative action against those found responsible, in accordance with due process.
It also wants the government to strengthen financial accountability, beneficiary verification, auditing, reconciliation and oversight mechanisms to prevent a recurrence of the alleged irregularities and ensure that eligible vulnerable households receive their intended benefits.
The organisation is further seeking an order restraining the government from administering or disbursing cash-transfer and social-protection funds without adequate accountability and oversight mechanisms, as well as appropriate remedies for any established adverse effects on beneficiaries’ protected rights.
No date has, however, been fixed for the hearing of the suit.
The Federal Government has released N38.93bn to 166 public tertiary institutions nationwide under the Needs Assessment Revitalisation Fund to address infrastructure deficits and improve teaching and learning facilities.
The intervention covers 79 universities, 46 polytechnics and 41 colleges of education, with universities receiving the largest share of the allocation.
The Federal Ministry of Finance disclosed this in a statement issued on Sunday by its Head of Media, Efe Ovuakporie, explaining that the funds would support approved projects in beneficiary institutions.
The statement read, “The Federal Government has disbursed N38.93bn to 166 public tertiary institutions nationwide under the Needs Assessment Revitalisation Fund.”
According to the ministry, the university component accounts for N28.5bn, while N5.8bn has been allocated to polytechnics and N4.7bn to colleges of education.
According to the ministry, the university component accounts for N28.5bn, while N5.8bn has been allocated to polytechnics and N4.7bn to colleges of education.
An analysis of the allocations by PUNCH Online showed that universities would receive approximately 73.2 per cent of the announced N38.93bn intervention, making them the largest beneficiaries.
Polytechnics would account for about 14.9 per cent, while colleges of education would receive approximately 12.1 per cent.
The ministry explained that the intervention was intended to address longstanding infrastructure challenges in public tertiary institutions and support the implementation of agreements reached between the Federal Government and the Academic Staff Union of Universities.
It stated, “The intervention forms part of the Federal Government’s efforts to address the needs of public universities and support the implementation of agreed measures under the Memorandum of Understanding between the Federal Government and the Academic Staff Union of Universities.”
The Needs Assessment Revitalisation Fund is designed to support improvements in institutional infrastructure and other identified needs, particularly in public universities, where inadequate facilities have remained a recurring concern in negotiations between the government and academic unions.
The ministry said the latest disbursement would enable beneficiary institutions to begin new projects or continue previously approved interventions aimed at improving their operational capacity.
“The funds are expected to enable beneficiary institutions to commence or advance approved projects addressing critical infrastructure and other identified institutional needs, with the overall objective of strengthening the quality of tertiary education in Nigeria,” it added.
The government also emphasised the need for coordination among the Federal Ministry of Finance, Federal Ministry of Education and beneficiary institutions to ensure that the released funds produced measurable improvements.
It noted that effective collaboration would be necessary to translate the financial intervention into improved infrastructure, institutional capacity and learning conditions.
The bill to approve the establishment of the Federal University of Agriculture, Emughan, Abua-Odual Local Government Area of Rivers State has passed third reading.
The Bill, titled “A Bill for an Act to Amend the Federal Universities of Agriculture Act, Cap. F22, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria, 2024” was sponsored by Senator Ipalibo Harry Banigo representing Rivers West Senatorial District.
The bill seeks to amend the existing Federal Universities of Agriculture Act to provide for the establishment of the proposed institution in Emughan community in Rivers State.
The passage of the bill by the Senate marks a significant legislative milestone towards the establishment of the proposed university.
When established, the institution is expected to expand access to higher education, promote agricultural research and innovation, develop skilled manpower, and contribute to the economic growth of Rivers State and Nigeria at large.
According to a statement made available to The Tide, the bill, having passed the Third Reading in the Senate, will now proceed to the House of Representatives for concurrence as part of the legislative process towards its enactment into law.
The bill underscores Senator Banigo’s commitment to advancing educational opportunities and strengthening agricultural development in Rivers State.
By: Kevin Nengia
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