Tinubu asked to relocate NNPCL, NIMASA, NPA to Niger Delta

 

Former member of the National Working Committee (NWC) of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), Yekini Nabena, Wednesday, January 24, implored President Bola Tinubu to approve the relocation of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) to the Niger Delta region.

He also asked for the relocation of the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) and the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) to the Niger Delta area.

The federal government had indicated interest in moving part of CBN and FAAN to Lagos State for the efficiency of its activities.

The development has however generated a lot of debates in support and against it, especially by the Northern elite and leaders.

Reacting to the move to relocate the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) to Lagos, in a statement in Abuja on Wednesday, the former APC deputy national publicity secretary also said that the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development should be moved to Benue State where agricultural produce is in abundance.

The APC chieftain said: “If the 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 Mine and Steal should be moved to Kogi state where we have the Ajaokuta Steal 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.”

According to Nabena, the issue of oil companies relocating to the oil-producing Niger Delta region had been debated severally in the Nigerian Senate with the companies not heeding the calls.

“The Senate had asked International Oil Companies (IOCs) to relocate their headquarters to the Niger Delta region to fast-track the host communities economic development but some powerful interests in Lagos are preventing this for their selfish interests.”

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