Northern Groups Reject ‘Lopsided’ Federal Road Projects

The Coalition of Northern Groups (CNG), has rejected the road contract approvals issued by the Federal Executive Council (FEC) on November 6, 2025, describing the distribution as a “blatant, deliberate and coordinated marginalisation of Northern Nigeria.”

In a statement released by its national coordinator, Comrade Jamilu Aliyu Charanchi, the group said its assessment of the figures, distributions, and geopolitical allocations shows a pattern of systemic bias that cannot be dismissed as an oversight.

Citing media reports CNG noted that the Tinubu administration approved ₦1.047 trillion in road contracts.

However, the coalition said the overwhelming majority of these funds were allocated to Southern Nigeria, particularly the South-West, leaving the North with what it described as “barely measurable crumbs.”

Charanchi said: “South-West 789.82bn 75.4%; South-South 156bn – 14.9%; North-Central 43bn – 4.1%; North-West 30.23 bn 2.9%; South-East 28.47bn – 2.7%; North-East 0 – 0%. Regional Totals: Southern Nigeria Combined: ₦974.29 bn (93%); Northern Nigeria Combined: ₦73.23 bn ( 7%).

“This 7% allocation to all 19 Northern states is not merely an imbalance, it is a calculated act of economic sabotage deliberately designed to deepen regional inequality and suppress Northern development. Northern Nigeria hosts: The largest landmass; The longest federal road networks; The highest insecurity burden; The largest population centre.”

CNG accused the FEC of deliberately excluding several major Northern highways from the approved contracts. Roads listed as neglected include: Kano–Maiduguri, Abuja–Kaduna–Zaria, Makurdi–Jos, Bauchi–Gombe, Jibia–Sokoto, Bida–Minna and numerous others on the brink of collapse.

CNG warned that no administration can deprive an entire region of development and expect peace, trust, or cooperation.

He added, “This cannot be attributed to oversight. It is intentional underdevelopment and a continuation of a destructive trend. No government can deprive an entire region of development and still expect: Peace, Cooperation, Trust.

“A government cannot pump billions into a favoured region while turning the North into an infrastructural graveyard and expect 100 million Northern citizens to remain silent. The North has endured decades of deliberate neglect, exploitation, and structural isolation. Enough is enough.”