‘North not neglected’, Presidency counters Kwankwaso’s claim on marginalization

The Presidency has rejected allegations by the presidential candidate of the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP) in the 2023 general elections, Senator Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso, that President Bola Tinubu’s administration has sidelined the North. Kwankwaso, speaking at a stakeholders’ dialogue on the 2025 constitutional amendment in Kano on Thursday, criticised what he described as the […]

The Presidency has rejected allegations by the presidential candidate of the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP) in the 2023 general elections, Senator Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso, that President Bola Tinubu’s administration has sidelined the North.

Kwankwaso, speaking at a stakeholders’ dialogue on the 2025 constitutional amendment in Kano on Thursday, criticised what he described as the growing concentration of national resources in the South—warning that this trend was worsening poverty and insecurity in the North.

He also bemoaned the poor state of federal roads in the region, recounting a recent ordeal where a cancelled flight forced him to travel by road from Abuja to Kano through Kaduna, a journey he described as a “hellish” experience due to the deplorable road conditions.

“Yesterday, I was to come by air, but unfortunately, my airline decided to shift our takeoff from 3pm to 8pm. I had to come by road. From Abuja to Kaduna to Kano was a hell. Terrible. Very bad road. This is a road started many years ago, right from the beginning of the leadership of the APC.

“Now, we are told that there is a road from the South to the East. We support infrastructure anywhere in this country…and any other thing that is good for the masses. But a situation where government is taking our resources and dumping it in one part of the country and other parts of the country are left just like that, I don’t believe that is the right thing to do by the government itself,” Kwankwaso said.

Reacting in an X post on Friday, the President’s Special Adviser on Media and Public Communication, Sunday Dare, challenged Kwankwaso’s remarks, insisting they were misleading.

“The claim that Northern Nigeria has been left behind is incorrect. The Tinubu administration has initiated and continued several landmark projects in the North, covering roads, agriculture, healthcare, and energy,” Dare said.

He outlined major infrastructure, health, energy, and agricultural projects being implemented across Northern states to buttress the government’s commitment.

He said ongoing projects include the Abuja–Kaduna–Kano Expressway, the Sokoto–Badagry Super Highway, the Ajaokuta–Kaduna–Kano Gas Pipeline, and xpansion of Mararaba–Keffi Road (43.65 km) among others.

Dare highlighted a $158.15 million Agriculture Value Chain programme across nine Northern states and the Kolmani Integrated Development Project in Bauchi and Gombe. Other interventions include the Agro-Climatic Resilience in Semi-Arid Landscapes (ACReSAL) project, which aims to restore one million hectares of degraded land.

The presidential aide listed facilities such as Ahmadu Bello University Teaching Hospital, Zaria, University of Jos Teaching Hospital, and the Federal Medical Centre, Nguru, among others, as beneficiaries of expansions and new investments. He also noted the revitalisation of about 1,000 primary health centres in the North.

He stated that major road projects include the Kano–Kongolam Road, Kaduna–Jos Road, the Kano–Maiduguri Dual Carriageway, and the rehabilitation of key corridors in Borno and Adamawa states.

On energy and gas, Dare pointed to the ongoing 614 km Ajaokuta–Kaduna–Kano Gas Pipeline, the Gwagwalada Power Plant, and planned solar projects in Kaduna. Rail projects include the Kaduna–Kano Rail Line, the Kano–Maradi Rail Line, and the Abuja Metro rehabilitation.

“All of these in only two years by President Tinubu,” he stressed.