The National Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) has initiated plans to relocate certain departments from Abuja to Lagos, according to a memo seen by Peoples Gazette.

The National Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) has begun planning to move several of its departments from Abuja to Lagos state, according to a memo seen by Peoples Gazette.

The agency’s corporate services and administration commissioner, Kelechi Ofoegbu, wrote the memo headed ‘Movement to Lagos’ on Wednesday.

“In line with our objectives of improving organisational efficiency, driving industry growth, and managing office accommodation in Abuja, we are exploring the possibility of relocating certain units to Lagos,” Mr Ofoegbu wrote in the letter akin to the same way the Minister of Aviation, Festus Keyamo, wrote moved the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) from the nation’s capital to Lagos.

The relocation, Mr Ofoegbu emphasised, was required to improve service delivery, lower operational expenses “and make adequate utilisation of our assets in Lagos.”

He issued a February 23 ultimatum for all NUPRC departments to each submit a list of units that could operate independently outside the nation’s capital without any hassles.

Yemi Cardoso, the governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), incited fury in the north and sparked threats of protest when he announced in January that the apex bank’s major departments would be relocating from Abuja to Lagos.

Mr Ndume had criticised the move, accusing “Lagos boys” of goading President Bola Tinubu into approving the decision.