Mr Viral
From Juliana Taiwo-Obalonye, Abuja
The Presidency has strongly rejected former Kano Governor and NNPP presidential candidate Rabiu Kwankwaso’s accusation that northern Nigeria has been neglected under President Bola Tinubu’s administration.
Speaking through the Special Adviser to the President on Media and Public Communications, Sunday Dare, the Presidency insisted that the North has been comprehensively covered with ongoing federal projects across multiple sectors.
Addressing Kwankwaso directly on his official Twitter handle, Dare declared in capital letters, “SENATOR KWANKWASO. YOU ARE WRONG. NORTH NOT NEGLECTED. PRESIDENT TINUBU HAS THE NORTH COVERED. NORTHERN NIGERIA NOT LEFT BEHIND”.
Dare backed this assertion with an extensive list of 43 projects and programmes launched or sustained within two years of the current administration. Among the key infrastructure developments highlighted were major road projects such as the Abuja-Kaduna-Kano Expressway, the Sokoto-Badagry Expressway, and the Sokoto-Zamfara-Katsina Expressway.
In agriculture, the Presidency cited a $158.15 million Agriculture Value Chain programme impacting nine northern states, the Kolmani Integrated Development Project across Bauchi and Gombe, the World Bank-supported Agro-Climatic Resilience initiative combating land degradation, and the large-scale Kano River irrigation scheme commissioned in 2023.
Healthcare investments include expansions or new projects for teaching hospitals in Zaria, Katsina, Jos, Sokoto, Bauchi, and other northern cities, alongside a reinvigoration of about 1,000 primary health centers in the region.
The transportation sector also benefits from multiple road constructions and rehabilitations, including the Kano–Maiduguri Dual Carriageway, Kaduna–Jos Road, and various strategic roads in Borno, Adamawa, and Kebbi states. The energy sector projects include the 614 km Ajaokuta–Kaduna–Kano Gas Pipeline, the Gwagwalada Power Plant in Abuja, and planned solar power development in Kaduna. Rail and metro transit projects such as the Kaduna–Kano Rail Line, Kano–Maradi Rail Line, and the Abuja Metro Line rehabilitation were also emphasized.
Dare concluded by stressing the broad geographic and sectoral scope of government initiatives in the North: “Northern Nigeria is not left behind. From road networks to gas pipelines, agriculture, health, and rail, this administration has the North well covered”.
Kwankwaso had alleged the federal government was concentrating resources in the South, worsening poverty and insecurity in the North. His comments came during a stakeholders’ dialogue on the 2025 constitutional amendment in Kano, where he lamented the poor state of federal roads and other services.
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