The president has denied the accusation of Kankwaso about northern neglect

The president has denied the new claim by Senator Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso, a 2023 presidential candidate from the new Nigerian People’s Party (NNPP), that the Administration of the Tinubu Ball President has set aside the North Nigeria in the allocation of national resources and infrastructure development.

Kwankwaso, spoke in the stakeholder dialogue on the 2025 constitutional amendment held in Kano on Thursday, accused that federal resources were increasingly tilted to the southern region. He quoted infrastructure that worsened and worsened poverty and insecurity in the north as proof of marginalization.

The former Governor of Kano State specifically regretted the poor condition of the federal road in the region, describing the new way from Abuja to Kano through Kaduna, was carried out because of the flight that was canceled, as “hell.”

In response, special advisors to the President of the Media and Public Communication, Mr. Sunday Dare, rejected Kankwaso’s statement as inaccurate and misleading. Posting on the official grip of X (previously Twitter) on Friday, Dare stated that the Tinubu government had made significant investments in the critical sectors in North Nigeria.

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“The claim that Nigeria Northern has been abandoned. The Tinubu government has initiated and defended several important projects in the north, which included roads, agriculture, health care, and energy,” Dare said.

Highlighting the main projects that are ongoing, Dare mentioned the freeway of the Abuja-Kaduna-Kano, Sokoto-Badagry Super Highway, and the 614 kilometer gasokuta-Kaduna (AKK) gas pipeline. He also appointed a collusion integrated development project in the state of Bauchi and Gombe and the agricultural value chain program $ 158.15 million in nine northern states.

Regarding environmental resilience and agriculture, Dare refers to agro-climate resilience in the semi-dry (hectare) initiative, which aims to restore more than one million hectares of degraded land.

In the health sector, Dare noted the ongoing expansion and investment in tertiary health institutions, including the Teaching Hospital at the University of Ahmadu Bello in Zaria, Jos University Education Hospital, and Federal Medical Center in Nguru. He added that around 1,000 main health care centers in the whole north were being revitalized.

Road infrastructure projects that are currently ongoing include Kano -Kongolam Road, Kaduna -Jos Road, and Double Kano -Maiduguri. He also mentioned the rehabilitation of the ongoing large transportation corridor in the states of Borno and Adamawa.

Energy and rail infrastructure is also quoted. Dare referred to the construction of the Gwagwalwalda Power Plant, solar projects planned in Kaduna, and the Kaduna -Kankano and Kano -Maradi railroad lines, as well as Metro Abuja rehabilitation.

“The North is not lagging behind. From the road network to health, agriculture, energy and transportation services, this administration is actively investing in development in the region,” Dare said.