Nigeria’s President Bola Tinubu has no intention of relocating the capital from Abuja to Lagos, according to his office.
The presidency denounced political opponents, saying the rumors have no truth.
The speculation emerged before Mr Tinubu came to power last May and heightened this week after announcements that the airports agency and a central bank department would move to Lagos.
Abuja replaced Lagos as Nigeria’s capital in 1991. It was a purpose-built, planned city in the center of the country. Lagos remains the economic hub and biggest city in Nigeria.
The presidency released a statement to dispel the relocation rumors due to “mischief-makers” fueling ethnic mistrust between the north and south.
Nigeria consists of a mainly Muslim north and a largely Christian south. There are more than 250 ethnic groups in the country, with three main groups: Hausa in the north, Yoruba in the west, and Igbo in the east. Some figures from the south-west region have called for a separate Yoruba nation, but it is not seen as a serious threat.
There have been concerns that President Tinubu might want to move the capital to favor the south-west over the rest of the country because he is from the Yoruba community.
However, his adviser denied this, saying the relocation of the Federal Airport Authority of Nigeria and the Central Bank of Nigeria’s banking supervision department to Lagos was purely administrative.
“The President Tinubu-led administration is working tirelessly to be just and equitable to every section of the country,” Mr Onanuga said, addressing the issue.
