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The Nigerian Presidency has rejected claims that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has sidelined the North West region, and insisted that his government has made major investments in infrastructure, health services and transport in the region.
Officials made this known on Monday in Abuja during a press conference organized by Renewed Hope Ambassadors ahead of a nationwide inspection tour of the project that will begin in Kaduna and expand across the North West states.
As part of its defense, the presidency pointed to several ongoing projects, including the construction of a $2 billion standard-gauge railway linking Kano to Maradi in Niger Republic, which it said had reached 60 percent completion.
Speaking at the briefing, Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Special Duties, Tunde Rahman, said the tour was aimed at correcting what he described as widespread misunderstanding regarding the government’s performance in the region.
Rahman said, “Many people say that the President did not keep his promises with North Korea. This is not true.
“You will see for yourself the projects implemented by Mr. President. He started them in the North in the areas of employment, road networks, health facilities that have been built and transportation, such as the rail system from Kano to Maradi.”
He added that this initiative was driven by the Renewed Hope Ambassadors, which he described as a key platform advancing the President’s re-election message.
Rahman explained, “We are not reinventing the wheel. We are collecting all the achievements of Mr President and presenting them to the whole of Nigeria so that Nigerians can see that a lot has been done in the last three years.”
Also speaking, Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, said the tour was designed to address information gaps that fuel skepticism about the government’s performance.
He said, “If we don’t blow our trumpet, no one will blow it for us.
“We are inviting the media so they can see for themselves the many projects being undertaken across the country, projects that have a direct impact on our communities.
“Someone posted about the completed road on social media and said, ‘I didn’t know such a project existed.’ That’s why we do this.”
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The session also featured a technical presentation by the Director of Rail Transport Services at the Federal Ministry of Transport, Finbarr Zirra, who described the North West region as central to Nigeria’s rail modernization strategy.
Zirra traces the rail sector’s challenges to colonial-era planning, arguing that the rail sector was not originally designed to support national development.
“The plans at that time did not intend to integrate us or provide our resources for national development,” he said, adding, “By the 1970s, the railway sector was declining to the point where government investment declined and was essentially replaced by road infrastructure.”
He noted that the 25-year Railway Master Plan introduced in 2002 aimed to revitalize and modernize the network, with recent progress recorded under the current government.
On the Lagos-Kano standard gauge corridor, which he described as the backbone of the rail network, Zirra said several segments were operational or nearing completion.
“The section to Kano is complete,” he stressed, adding that the route from Kaduna to Abuja is expected to be operational by the end of this year.
He revealed that the Kano–Katsina–Maradi extension, which stretches for about 400 kilometres, is still the largest railway project in the North West, with significant progress already achieved.
“The total length of this package is around 400 kilometers and work is underway. By the end of this year, Kano to Katsina is expected to be completed,” said Zirra.
According to him, Kano will serve as a major hub once built, with four railway lines converging on the city, making it an important node in the national transport network.
He highlighted the economic impact of building the railway, and noted that improved logistics could reduce pressure on roads and reduce costs.
“One movement of a fully loaded train will take about 30 trucks off the road.
“If we are able to do this consistently, the impact on road maintenance, logistics costs and cost of goods will be very large.
“The multiplier effect of a functional rail corridor can be felt in every other sector.”
Zirra also unveiled plans for a privately funded high-speed rail project estimated to be worth N200 billion, covering the Lagos-Kano route and a separate Lagos-Port Harcourt corridor.
This briefing came shortly after the New Hope Ambassador launched a digital platform showcasing his government’s important achievements.
Chairman of the group and Governor of Imo State, Hope Uzodimma, said the platform will provide verified information to improve public understanding of government policies and fight misinformation.
