The Presidency has dismissed allegations by former Kano State Governor and presidential candidate of the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP), Senator Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso, that the administration of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu is neglecting Northern Nigeria.
Responding in a statement on Friday, the Special Adviser to the President on Media and Public Communication, Mr. Sunday Dare, described Kwankwaso’s claims as “incorrect” and “misleading,” insisting that the Tinubu administration is executing several transformative projects across the North.
“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 outlined ongoing infrastructure projects such as the Abuja–Kaduna–Kano Expressway, the Sokoto–Badagry Super Highway, and the 614-kilometre Ajaokuta–Kaduna–Kano Gas Pipeline. He also pointed to key energy projects including the Gwagwalada Power Plant and planned solar energy facilities in Kaduna State.
In agriculture, Dare highlighted a $158.15 million agriculture value chain development programme spanning nine northern states, and the Kolmani Integrated Development Project situated between Bauchi and Gombe states. Additionally, he referenced the Agro-Climatic Resilience in Semi-Arid Landscapes (ACReSAL) project aimed at restoring one million hectares of degraded land.
Health sector interventions, he noted, include the expansion and upgrading of facilities such as the Ahmadu Bello University Teaching Hospital in Zaria, the University of Jos Teaching Hospital, and the Federal Medical Centre in Nguru. The administration is also revitalising about 1,000 primary healthcare centres across the North.
Dare further cited ongoing road rehabilitation and construction projects including the Kano–Kongolam Road, Kaduna–Jos Road, and the Kano–Maiduguri Dual Carriageway, alongside key transport corridors in Borno and Adamawa States.
He also mentioned major rail infrastructure projects like the Kaduna–Kano and Kano–Maradi rail lines, as well as the rehabilitation of the Abuja Metro, as examples of the administration’s commitment to equitable national development.
The statement was a direct response to Kwankwaso’s recent remarks accusing the Tinubu administration of allocating disproportionate national resources to the South, thereby worsening poverty and insecurity in the North.
However, the Presidency insisted that the facts on the ground tell a different story.
“The North is not neglected. Instead, it is a major focus of President Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda,” Dare concluded.
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