Presidency Faults Kwankwaso’s Claim, Says North Not Sidelined

The Presidency has strongly rejected accusations by 2023 presidential candidate of the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP), Senator Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso that President Bola Tinubu’s administration has marginalised Northern Nigeria in the distribution of national resources.

LEADERSHIP reports Kwankwaso made the comments on Thursday during a stakeholders’ dialogue on the 2025 constitutional amendment, held in Kano.

The former Kano State governor accused the federal government of concentrating development efforts in the southern part of the country while leaving the North in a state of infrastructural decay.

Responding on Friday via his official X handle, Special Adviser to the President on Media and Public Communication, Sunday Dare, described Kwankwaso’s remarks as inaccurate.

“Senator Kwankwaso, you are wrong. North not neglected. President Tinubu has the North covered.”

Dare went on to highlight numerous ongoing projects and programmes across various sectors in Northern Nigeria under the Tinubu administration.

He noted that the federal government is actively working on major road and highway projects in the region, including the Abuja–Kaduna–Zaria–Kano dual carriageway, Kano–Maiduguri expressway, the Sokoto–Badagry superhighway, and roads connecting Adamawa, Taraba, Kaduna, and Jos, among others.

In the health sector, Dare pointed to upgrades and expansions at several federal medical institutions, such as the Ahmadu Bello University Teaching Hospital in Zaria, the Federal Teaching Hospital in Katsina, and the University of Jos Teaching Hospital.

He also referenced the revitalisation of over 1,000 Primary Health Centres in Northern communities to improve access to basic healthcare.

On agriculture, he referenced the $158.15 million Agriculture Value Chain programme being implemented in nine Northern states, the Kolmani Integrated Development Project in Bauchi and Gombe States, and the Kano River irrigation project. Additionally, he mentioned the Agro-Climatic Resilience in Semi-Arid Landscapes (ACReSAL) programme, a World Bank-funded initiative aimed at restoring degraded land and boosting climate resilience across the North.

Dare also outlined significant investments in energy and transport infrastructure.

These include the 614-kilometre Ajaokuta–Kaduna–Kano Gas Pipeline, the Gwagwalada Power Plant in the FCT, and the planned ABIBA Solar Power Station in Kaduna.

On rail and urban mobility, he referenced the Kaduna–Kano rail line, the Kano–Maradi rail line, and the ₦100 billion Kaduna Light Rail project, as well as the rehabilitation of the Abuja metroline.

The Presidency also highlighted national environmental and trade corridor programmes, such as the activities of the National Agency for the Great Green Wall (NAGGW), aimed at combating desertification in the North, and the Nigeria Erosion and Watershed Management Project (NEWMAP), which is addressing land degradation.

“All of these in only two years by President Tinubu,” Dare maintained.