Presidency rejects Kwankwaso’s claims of northern neglect in federal infrastructure development
The presidency has firmly rejected recent claims by Senator Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso that President Bola Tinubu’s administration is neglecting the North in favour of infrastructure development in the South.
Kwankwaso, the 2023 presidential candidate of the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP), made the accusation on Thursday during a stakeholders’ dialogue on the 2025 constitutional amendment in Kano. The former Kano State governor criticised what he described as lopsided development, lamenting the dilapidated state of the Abuja–Kaduna–Kano highway.
“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 APC leadership. Now we are told that there is a road from the South to the East,” Kwankwaso said.
However, in a statement posted on X (formerly Twitter) on Friday, the Special Adviser to the President on Media and Public Communication, Sunday Dare, described the senator’s remarks as “incorrect and misleading.”
“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 said.
He cited major infrastructure projects underway in the region, including the Abuja–Kaduna–Kano Expressway, Sokoto–Badagry Expressway, and Sokoto–Zamfara–Katsina Road.
In agriculture, Dare highlighted initiatives such as the $158.15 million Agricultural Value Chain Development Programme across nine northern states, the Kolmani Integrated Development Project in Bauchi and Gombe, and the World Bank–funded ACReSAL project to restore over one million hectares of degraded land.
On healthcare, he listed the expansion and rehabilitation of the Ahmadu Bello University Teaching Hospital, Zaria; Federal Teaching Hospital, Katsina; University of Jos Teaching Hospital; and over 1,000 primary healthcare centres across the North.
In transport, Dare pointed to rail infrastructure including the Kaduna–Kano Rail Line, Kano–Maradi Rail Line, and the ongoing rehabilitation of the Abuja Light Rail system.
Energy projects such as the 50MW ABIBA Solar Power Station in Kaduna were also mentioned, alongside major road projects like the Zaria–Funtua–Gusau–Sokoto Dual Carriageway, Dikwa–Gamboru–Ngala Road, and Kaduna–Jos Single Carriageway.
“In just two years, President Tinubu’s administration has laid a foundation for long-term development in the region,” Dare added, insisting that the facts do not support Kwankwaso’s allegations of marginalisation.
The presidency’s response comes amid broader public debate about equity in national development and the perception of regional imbalance in federal investments.
