The Presidency has rejected allegations by Senator Rabiu Kwankwaso that the Tinubu administration is prioritizing infrastructure development in Southern Nigeria over the North.
The former Kano State governor and 2023 presidential candidate of the New Nigeria Peoples Party made the claims during a stakeholders’ dialogue on constitutional amendments in Kano on Thursday.
Kwankwaso specifically criticized the poor state of the Abuja-Kaduna-Kano highway, comparing it unfavorably to roads in the South.
“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. Now we are told that there is a road from the South to the East,” he said.
In response, the Special Adviser to the President on Media and Public Communication, Sunday Dare, dismissed the claims in a post on X (formerly Twitter) on Friday.
He insisted that the Tinubu administration has demonstrated a strong commitment to Northern development through numerous infrastructure and social intervention projects.
“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 stated.
He highlighted ongoing road projects such as the Abuja-Kaduna-Kano Expressway, Sokoto-Badagry Expressway, and Sokoto-Zamfara-Katsina Road. In agriculture, Dare pointed to the $158.15 million Agriculture Value Chain Programme across nine Northern states, the Kolmani Integrated Development Project in Bauchi and Gombe, and the World Bank-funded Agro-Climatic Resilience in Semi-Arid Landscapes initiative, which aims to restore over one million hectares of degraded land.
The presidential aide also cited healthcare investments, including upgrades to the Ahmadu Bello University Teaching Hospital in Zaria, Federal Teaching Hospital Katsina, University of Jos Teaching Hospital, and the rehabilitation of more than 1,000 primary healthcare centers across the region.
In the transport sector, Dare referenced rail projects like the Kaduna-Kano Rail Line, the Kano-Maradi Rail Line linking Nigeria to Niger Republic, and the rehabilitation of Abuja’s light rail system. Energy projects such as the ABIBA 50 MW Solar Power Station in Kaduna were also mentioned, alongside major road reconstructions including the Zaria-Funtua-Gusau-Sokoto Dual Carriageway and the Kaduna-Jos Single Carriageway.
Dare emphasized that the Tinubu administration has laid a foundation for long-term Northern development within just two years, countering Kwankwaso’s allegations of neglect.