Udengs Eradiri, a former President of the Ijaw Youth Council (IYC) Worldwide, has called on President Bola Tinubu to instruct the relocation of crucial oil-related agencies to the Niger Delta region.
Eradiri, who was the Labour Party, LP, Governorship candidate in Bayelsa State, hailed President Tinubu for approving the relocation of key commercial agencies from Abuja to Lagos State.
Eradiri, a former Commissioner in Bayelsa, in a statement signed on Wednesday, said decongesting Abuja, which he described as the political capital of the country was long overdue.
He observed that some of the agencies being moved to Lagos, particularly, key agencies of the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, and the Federal Airport Authority of Nigeria, FAAN, had no business being in Abuja.
Eradiri said: “Lagos is the commercial headquarters of Nigeria and key commercial agencies, parastatals and other trade-related establishments belonging to the federal government are supposed to have their headquarters in Lagos State to facilitate smooth business operations and ensure the ease of doing business in the country.
“Nobody should read any political dimension to it because in the first place, they were not supposed to be in Abuja. We should not play politics with some decisions because the government got this one spot on”.
Eradiri, however, appealed to Tinubu to relocate key oil-related establishments and agencies owned by the federal government to the Niger Delta region.
He called on the President to compel the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited, NNPCL, 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, are ready to become hosts of such agencies and to ensure adequate security for them.
He said such a move would improve the economy of the region, stimulate job opportunities, reduce insecurity and facilitate the wealth redistribution agenda of President Tinubu.
He said: “We recall that during the visit of Yemi Osibanjo in his capacity as an acting President, he promised that the federal government would compel oil multinationals to relocate their offices to the Niger Delta region. However, throughout the lifespan of that administration, that promise was not fulfilled.
“We know that a new sheriff is in town with new and unique ways of doing things. The new government believes in decentralization and even development. In the spirit of the ongoing decongestion of the Capital Territory, we appeal to the President to remember the Niger Delta by compelling NNPCL to send headquarters of their subsidiaries to the region.
“It will facilitate the development of our region and give all communities a sense of belonging. It will also stop incessant attacks on oil facilities by persons, who feel sidelined by the operations of oil companies in our region”.
