Prominent civil rights advocacy group, the Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria (HURIWA) has spoken out against the plan by the new Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Governor, Mr. Olayemi Cardoso, to transfer some departments of the apex bank to Lagos.
According to the rights group, the decision was made for political reasons and was similar to the “notoriously petty politics” that other federation states engage in, where freshly elected and sworn-in governors quickly relocate state colleges to their local government districts.
Furthermore, HURIWA contended that it defies logic to claim that the CBN’s departments were moved to Lagos in an effort to relieve congestion at its Abuja headquarters.
It further stated that the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), which is Nigeria’s federal capital and seat of government, was established in the first place by law and is enforceable against all people and authorities due to the overcrowding of the entire state of Lagos.
The rights group in a statement by the National Coordinator, Emmanuel Onwubiko, said the decision by the new CBN chief was tantamount to disrespecting section 298 of the constitution of Nigeria which states unambiguously that the FCT shall be the capital of the federation and seat of government of the federation.
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HURIWA argued that the enabling Act that set up the CBN prescribed the legal functions to include being the official banker of the government of the federation.
It argued that this emphatically means that the CBN must be domiciled wherever the seat of government is located by law, which for now is Abuja.
It described the reason given for the plan to move some departments to Lagos as puerile and laughable.
HURIWA accused Cardoso of executing ethnic agenda by attempting to move strategic departments of the CBN to his state of origin which is Lagos.
It wondered that if the erstwhile governor of CBN for almost a decade, Mr. Godwin Emefiele had moved some departments to Asaba, the Delta State capital, which is his state of origin, whether the Lagos-born CBN governor will still have other departments to move to Lagos as being contemplated.
HURIWA urged the CBN chief executive to perish what it said was a politically toxic plot because it will be very a dangerous precedent.
The rights group said the new leadership of the CBN, by planning to move departments of the bank to Lagos was dragging the hand of the clock backwards in Nigeria.
It recalled that some staff members of the bank had reportedly resisted the transfer and claimed that it is motivated by tribal sentiment.
The group argued that all departments of CBN headquarters must be in Abuja while those staff already in the Lagos office should be instructed to handle assignments involving banks based in Lagos.
HURIWA said in a digital age, the CBN doesn’t have to physically locate staff in Lagos to carry out its task of regulating the banking sector.