The Presidency has strongly refuted allegations made by former Kano State Governor and 2023 NNPP presidential candidate, Senator Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso, that Northern Nigeria is being sidelined under President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s administration.
In a statement issued Friday by the Special Adviser to the President on Media and Public Communication, Sunday Dare, the presidency described Kwankwaso’s remarks as “inaccurate and misleading,” asserting that the North remains a key priority in the current government’s national development strategy.
“The claim that Northern Nigeria has been left behind is incorrect,” the statement read. “The Tinubu administration has not only continued but accelerated several landmark projects in the North — spanning roads, agriculture, healthcare, and energy.”
Dare outlined a comprehensive list of high-impact projects and programs underway across Northern states, emphasizing that they demonstrate the administration’s balanced and inclusive development agenda.
Among the infrastructure initiatives cited were: Abuja–Kaduna–Kano Expressway, Sokoto–Badagry Super Highway, Kano–Maiduguri Dual Carriageway, Kaduna–Jos Road, Kano–Kongolam Road, Rehabilitation works in Borno and Adamawa.
On the energy front, the statement pointed to: The 614-kilometre Ajaokuta–Kaduna–Kano Gas Pipeline, The Gwagwalada Independent Power Plant, Proposed solar power projects in Kaduna State.
Health sector interventions include upgrades and investments in facilities such as: Ahmadu Bello University Teaching Hospital, Zaria, University of Jos Teaching Hospital, Federal Medical Centre, Nguru, Revitalisation of 1,000 primary healthcare centres across the North.
In agriculture, Dare highlighted the $158.15 million Agriculture Value Chain Development Programme spanning nine northern states and the Kolmani Integrated Development Project in Bauchi and Gombe — a significant public-private energy and resource venture.
He also referenced the Agro-Climatic Resilience in Semi-Arid Landscapes (ACReSAL) initiative, which targets the restoration of one million hectares of degraded land in northern Nigeria.
Rail projects currently in progress include: Kaduna–Kano Rail Line, Kano–Maradi Rail Line, Rehabilitation of the Abuja Metro System.
“From road networks to gas pipelines, agriculture, health, and rail infrastructure, this administration has the North well covered,” Dare said. “Any suggestion to the contrary disregards the significant evidence on the ground.”
Kwankwaso had, a day earlier, voiced concern over what he described as the growing imbalance in federal resource allocation during a stakeholders’ dialogue on the 2025 constitutional amendment held in Kano.
He warned that the North was being increasingly marginalized, with poverty and insecurity on the rise.
He cited his own experience of traveling by road from Abuja to Kano via Kaduna, following a cancelled flight — describing the journey as “hellish” due to the poor state of federal highways.
