By Suleiman Anyalewechi
Renowned social critic and activist, Muhammad Mahdi Shehu, has dismissed the purported Federal Government’s approval of a Metro Rail line project worth about a Ntrillion for Kano State as a huge deception, and completely lacking in credibility and substance.
The Source reports that Governor Abba Yusuf had, on Thursday, January 29, 2026, at a ceremony to receive the State’s contingent to the 2025 National Qur’anic Recitation Competition hosted by Borno State, informed that the project, which has been graciously approved by President Bola Tinubu, when completed, will serve to stimulate the economy, and fast-track development in Kano State.
“The project aims to provide a modern, effecient, and affordable mass transit system connecting key districts and enhancing mobility for the residents.
“It is expected to stimulate trade and investment, improve quality of life and position Kano as a major transportation hub in Northern Nigeria”, Governor Yusuf stated.
The announcement of the mega project came just days after the defection of Governor Yusuf to the All Progressive Congress, APC.
The defection, however, came amidst heightened tension and disagreements between the camps of Governor Yusuf and his eirstwhile political godfather and leader of the Kwankwasiyya movement, Senator Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso.
The move has also expectedly raised the political temperature of the commercial nerve centre of the Northern region, with not a few perceiving it as a dangerous political gambit by the Governor.
But reacting on his official site, Shehu, in a statement entitled “Emotional Rail Project for Kano State: another political deception”, described the announcement of the so-called metro rail line as an ingenious way to deceive the unsuspecting people of Kano in the face of the Governor’s decision to join what he described as “gorilla and reptiles club where venoms flow.”
According to him, the deceptive nature of the project is underscored by the fact that there is no provision for same in the 2026 Federal Government budgetary estimates.
He noted that no memo in relation to the said project has been received and deliberated on by the Federal Executive Council.
“This is pure deception. There is no provision for such a project in the 2026 budget proposal.
“No such memo has been presented to the Federal Executive Council FEC for deliberation.
“There is no design on the ground, no contractor, and no consultants.
“Just to deceive Kano State people because Governor Abba has joined the gorillas and reptiles club where venoms flow”, Shehu stated.
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