July 25, (THEWILL) — The Presidency has dismissed claims by former Kano State governor and 2023 presidential candidate of the New Nigeria Peoples Party, Senator Rabiu Kwankwaso, that President Bola Tinubu has sidelined the North in the allocation of federal resources.
Kwankwaso, while speaking at the Kano State Stakeholders’ Dialogue on the 2025 Constitutional Amendment on Thursday, had accused the Tinubu-led administration of favouring the South in the distribution and execution of federal projects, to the detriment of the North.
He cited worsening poverty, insecurity, and dilapidated infrastructure in the region as evidence of neglect, referencing a recent road trip from Abuja to Kano due to a cancelled flight.
“From the information available to us, it’s like most of the national budget is now tilting in one direction. That is why we have insecurity, we have poverty. It is happening here mainly, but like a desert, it would go everywhere.
“Most roads in the northern region remain in a deplorable condition, whilst the APC government continues to allocate lump budgetary provisions for infrastructural development in the southern region,” Kwankwaso said.
In a swift response via his X handle on Friday, Special Adviser to the President on Media and Public Communications, Mr Sunday Dare, described Kwankwaso’s claims as “entirely false.”
“Senator Kwankwaso, you are wrong. The North is not neglected. President Tinubu has the North covered. Northern Nigeria is not left behind,” Dare stated.
He said the Tinubu administration had, within two years, rolled out no fewer than 43 major interventions across the North, spanning agriculture, road infrastructure, health, energy, and rail development.
Among the projects listed were the $158.15 million Agriculture Value Chain Development Programme for nine northern states, the Kolmani Integrated Development Project (Bauchi and Gombe), and the Agro-Climatic Resilience in Semi-Arid Landscapes (ACReSAL) — a six-year World Bank–funded initiative to restore one million hectares of degraded land and enhance climate resilience.
Dare said over 1,000 primary health centres have been revitalised across northern communities, while tertiary and secondary health facilities, including the Ahmadu Bello University Teaching Hospital in Zaria, University of Jos Teaching Hospital, and the Federal Medical Centre in Nguru, are being upgraded.
On road infrastructure, he listed the Abuja–Kaduna–Kano Expressway, Sokoto–Badagry Super Highway, Kano–Kongolam Road, Kaduna–Jos Road, and the Kano–Maiduguri Dual Carriageway as key projects underway.
He also highlighted major railway developments such as the Kaduna–Kano and Kano–Maradi lines, along with the ongoing rehabilitation of the Abuja Metro.
In the energy sector, Dare pointed to the 614-kilometre Ajaokuta–Kaduna–Kano (AKK) Gas Pipeline, the Gwagwalada Power Plant, and planned solar projects in Kaduna State as part of the administration’s broader Northern development agenda.
“The facts speak for themselves,” Dare said, urging political leaders to avoid divisive rhetoric and instead focus on fostering national unity.
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