₦airaland Forum

The Growth and Development of Northern Nigeria (GDNN) has called on the Federal Government to designate Lagos and Rivers as Federal Capital Territories.

The organisation described both cities as critical economic hubs whose assets deserve national protection and equitable access by all Nigerians.

Speaking at a press conference in Abuja on Friday, the Acting Secretary, Public Policy Advocacy Unit of GDNN, Haruna Buhari, announced that the resolution emerged from the group’s 18th Steering Committee meeting held on April 9, 2025.

According to him, the designation of Lagos and Port Harcourt as extensions of the Federal Capital Territory would resolve recurring political controversies, ensure federal protection of national assets, and grant all citizens equal access to opportunities, similar to the current status of Abuja.

“The GDNN notes that the North has been the one always in concession to the rest of the country and not any others. To limit this Status to only Abuja is not only treating the North unfairly but turning our backs at the Commitment made in 1975 by the then Head of State General Murtala Ramat Muhammed when a decision was taken to develop Abuja and designate Lagos, Kaduna and Enugu as “Special Areas” as appendages to the new Federal Capital City.

“We also call on the 19 Governors of the North to negotiate Governance conditions of the current Federal Capital Territory that must give preferential treatment to citizens of Niger, Kogi, Nasarawa and Kaduna States that contributed their territories into what is the FCT of today. The same policy can be implemented for the other Federal Capital Territories when created.”

The group also condemned the systematic degradation of the Nigerian Senate under its current leadership.

Citing the suspension of Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan and referencing similar past incidents involving late Senator Nuhu Aliyu, Senator Ali Ndume, and Senator Abdul Ningi, the northern group accused Senate leadership of weaponising internal rules to silence dissenting voices, particularly from the North.

Buhari argued that all the Senators whose rights have been abused to date by the same or previous Senate Presidents and their Vanguards are from the North, stressing that caution must be exercised in display of reckless abuse of executive privilege as it has consequential repercussions.

Expressing concern that the insecurity situation of the Country is not improving, he urged the National Security Adviser, Nuhu Ribadu to engage genuinely friendly nations that have the technological capabilities to eradicate insecurity if the subsisting solution does not bring about the desired outcome.

The organisation further took a swipe at the Central Bank of Nigeria’s tightening of the Cash Reserve Ratio (CRR), describing the policy as counterproductive to growth, inflation control, and financial access.

Buhari appealed to the Federal Government to disengage completely from any further relationships with any, or replica of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) now dissolved by President Donald Trump.

According to him, Nigeria must reevaluate its relationships with donor agencies by determining critical essential needs and dictating terms of any subsequent future engagements, adding that the count has enough resources to support its needs.

He also expressed concern that Nigeria’s legal framework for identifying money laundering has criminalised many legitimate traders who conduct large-volume cash transactions daily, especially in open markets across the country.

The group raised the alarm over a looming environmental and health catastrophe emanating from the Mpape landfill dumpsite in Abuja.

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