The presidency has refuted allegations made by Senator Rabiu Kwankwaso that the Tinubu-led administration is focusing more infrastructure development efforts in the South than in the North.
Speaking at a stakeholders’ dialogue on the 2025 constitutional amendment in Kano on Thursday, Kwankwaso, who contested the 2023 presidential election under the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP), claimed that the North was being overlooked in the federal government’s development agenda.
The former Kano State governor criticized the poor condition of the Abuja-Kaduna-Kano highway, describing the journey as “hell” when compared to the state of roads in the southern region.
“Yesterday, I was to come by air; unfortunately, my airline decided to shift our take-off from 3 p.m. to 8 p.m. I had to come by road. From Abuja to Kaduna to Kano was hell, a terrible, very bad road. And this is a road that was started many years ago, right from the beginning of the leadership of the All Progressives Congress (APC). Now we are told that there is a road from the South to the East,” he said.
In response via a post on X on Friday, Sunday Dare, Special Adviser to the President on Media and Public Communication, denied the claims, asserting that President Tinubu is firmly committed to northern development through various infrastructure and social investment programmes.
“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 pointed to major road projects currently underway, including the Abuja-Kaduna-Kano Expressway, Sokoto-Badagry Expressway, and the Sokoto-Zamfara-Katsina Road.
Regarding agriculture, Dare cited the \$158.15 million Agriculture Value Chain Programme spanning nine northern states, the Kolmani Integrated Development Project in Bauchi and Gombe, and the Agro-Climatic Resilience in Semi-Arid Landscapes (ACReSAL), supported by the World Bank, which aims to restore over one million hectares of degraded land.
He also mentioned healthcare investments such as upgrades at Ahmadu Bello University Teaching Hospital in Zaria, Federal Teaching Hospital Katsina, and University of Jos Teaching Hospital, along with the rehabilitation of over 1,000 primary healthcare centres across the North.
In the transport sector, Dare referenced key rail initiatives like the Kaduna-Kano Rail Line, the Kano-Maradi Rail Line linking Nigeria to Niger Republic, and the ongoing rehabilitation of Abuja’s light rail infrastructure.
Dare also noted renewable energy and road reconstruction projects, including the ABIBA 50 MW Solar Power Station in Kaduna, the Zaria-Funtua-Gusau-Sokoto Dual Carriageway, the Dikwa-Gamboru-Ngala Road, and the Kaduna-Jos Single Carriageway.
He maintained that within just two years, the Tinubu administration has set a foundation for long-term regional growth, directly contradicting Kwankwaso’s assertions of northern marginalisation.