Tinubu: "90% of the headquarters of Nigerian military formations are in Kaduna State, Northern Nigeria – YPF

The Yoruba Professionals Foundation (YPF) has expressed its disapproval of Northern elders who have objected to the decision to move certain departments of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) corporate headquarters from Abuja to Lagos. The Northern elders cautioned President Bola Ahmed Tinubu that such relocations could potentially impact Northerners' support in the 2027 elections, alleging that it was a deliberate attempt to impede the North's socio-economic activities. In response, the YPF asserted that Nigeria is not the exclusive domain of the North and that the federal government possesses the authority to relocate departments for the overall benefit of the nation.

Drawing attention to the fact that approximately 90 percent of military formations' headquarters are located in the North, despite a significant portion of the resources used for constructing these establishments originating from the South, the Yoruba group criticized this imbalance against the principles of federal character. Oladapo Kayode, the Director of YPF, noted that Southerners have accepted this disparity in the interest of the public. The Yoruba group argued that while the relocation from Abuja to Lagos was carried out in the public interest, it has faced resistance from Northern ethnic merchants, which stands in contrast to the acceptance of the disproportionate distribution of military formations.

YPF's statement, as reported by Sahara Reporters, underlined that Southerners, who contribute a substantial share of resources for these military facilities, have acquiesced to the concentration of 90% of military headquarters in Kaduna, Northern Nigeria, despite it contradicting the principle of federal character. The Yoruba group criticized what they perceive as a double standard, whereby a relocation to Lagos for the public good is met with opposition, while the acceptance of the concentration of military formations in the North, against federal character principles, remained unquestioned.

According to Oladapo Kayode, "90% of the headquarters of Nigerian military formations are situated in Kaduna State, Northern Nigeria. Nigerians from the South, who contribute 90% of the resources used to construct these formations, have accepted this situation despite it going against the principle of federal character in the North, all in the interest of the public. However, a relocation from Abuja to Lagos, conducted in the public interest, is generating outcry from ethnic merchants in the North."