The Presidency has refuted claims by former Kano State Governor and 2023 NNPP presidential candidate, Senator Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso, that President Bola Tinubu’s administration has sidelined Northern Nigeria.
Kwankwaso had alleged during a stakeholders’ meeting on the 2025 constitutional amendment in Kano on Thursday that the North is being marginalised, with national resources skewed in favour of the South. He cited deteriorating federal road networks in the region, recounting a harrowing road trip from Abuja to Kano after a cancelled flight.
In response, the Special Adviser to the President on Media and Public Communication, Sunday Dare, dismissed the allegations in a statement posted on his X (formerly Twitter) handle on Friday.
Dare asserted that the Tinubu administration is committed to inclusive national development, highlighting several infrastructure and social investment projects actively ongoing across the North.
“The claim that Northern Nigeria has been left behind is incorrect,” he stated. “The Tinubu administration has initiated and sustained major projects in the North spanning roads, agriculture, energy, and healthcare.”
He listed key projects such as the Abuja–Kaduna–Kano Expressway, the Sokoto–Badagry Super Highway, and the 614-kilometre Ajaokuta–Kaduna–Kano Gas Pipeline as evidence of development efforts in the region.
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Dare also pointed to the $158.15 million Agriculture Value Chain Development Programme being implemented across nine northern states, along with the Kolmani Integrated Development Project straddling Bauchi and Gombe states.
Additional programmes include the Agro-Climatic Resilience in Semi-Arid Landscapes (ACReSAL) initiative, which seeks to reclaim one million hectares of degraded land in the North.
In the healthcare sector, the presidency noted major upgrades at facilities including Ahmadu Bello University Teaching Hospital in Zaria, University of Jos Teaching Hospital, and Federal Medical Centre in Nguru. Over 1,000 primary healthcare centres are also undergoing revitalisation across northern states.
Road infrastructure projects cited include the Kano–Kongolam Road, Kaduna–Jos Road, Kano–Maiduguri Dual Carriageway, and rehabilitation works in Borno and Adamawa states.
On the energy front, Dare mentioned the Gwagwalada Power Plant and upcoming solar power initiatives in Kaduna, while also citing ongoing work on the Kaduna–Kano and Kano–Maradi rail lines, as well as the Abuja Metro rehabilitation project.
“From critical road networks to power infrastructure, rail, agriculture, and health, the Tinubu administration has the North well covered,” Dare concluded.