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Sanusi backs relocation of CBN departments to Lagos

Muhammadu Sanusi II, a former emir of Kano, has backed the decision of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to relocate some members of staff from Abuja to Lagos, describing it as a “sensible move”.

He also said that children of politically exposed Nigerians who are members of the staff would rather quit the Central Bank than leave their ‘spoilt Abuja life’ for Lagos, advising that it is better to get rid of them, under the circumstances.

The former Kano Emir stated this while defending the relocation of some departments of the apex bank from Abuja to Lagos by the current government of Bola Tinubu.

The CBN recently announced plans to move its banking supervision department to Lagos.

Northern Senators Forum (NSF), raising concerns over the plan, said it would engage the Federal Government.

Sanusi, therefore, advised the apex bank’s present management not to allow any pressure to cause them to reconsider their planned relocation and to be prepared to lay off any personnel who refused to move with them.

Sanusi’s statement reads: “The problem we have now is that many employees are children of politically exposed persons and their Abuja life and businesses are more important than the CBN work.

“The CBN is just an address for them and if they have to choose between their spoilt Abuja life and the job, they would gladly leave the CBN.

“All the more reason for the Governor to put his foot down and get rid of those elements; they are dangerous for the bank’s future.”

It should be recalled that the Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF) kicked against the relocation, describing it as a deliberate plot against the Northern region.

According to the forum, the CBN’s decision, rather than being a normal administrative action to fix some logistics problem, is a disturbing pattern of antagonistic actions often taken by certain federal government agencies against the interests of the North and other parts of the country.

The ACF noted that Northerners would be affected by the exercise.

However, Sanusi, who was the 14th Emir of Kano said the relocation was an “eminently sensible move”.

Sanusi, in a comment posted in a private WhatsApp group, dismissed those against the relocation as “playing dirty politics.

“Moving certain functions to the Lagos office (which is bigger than the Abuja head office) is an eminently sensible move,” Sanusi wrote in the group chat.

“It makes eminent strategic sense. And I would have done this if I had stayed.

“All this noise is absolutely unnecessary. The CBN has staff manning its branches and cash offices across the federation.

“Moving staff to the Lagos office to streamline operations and make them more effective and reduce cost is a normal prerogative of management, “ he stated.

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