Presidency Slams Kwankwaso Over Claims Of Northern Marginalization

By Adesina Soyooye

The Presidency has slammed Dr Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso, Presidential Candidate of the New Nigeria Peoples Party, NNPP, in the 2023 Presidential Election, for his claims that  President BolaTinubu has neglected the North in favour of the South.

Presudent Tinubu is from the Southern part of the country, specifically, the South-west.

After a visit to Tinubu at the Presidential Villa for which most people thought both men discussed how to partner in 2027, given the recent speculations, Kwankwaso  surprised many by launching a blistering attack on the Tinubu administration.

He attacked it by making claims of Government’s  neglect and marginalisation  of Northern Nigeria in favour of Southern Nigria.

He accused the Government of concentrating Nigeria’s resources on developing  Southern Nigeria to the  detriment of the North just because the President comes from the South.

He cited the Abuja-Kano expressway which he said he plied on his trip to Abuja, as a typical example of neglect and described it as terrible and horrible.

Kwankwaso who spoke at a Stakeholders meeting in Kano, said:  “Let me advise the Federal Government on the distribution of federal resources.

“From the information available to us, it’s like most of the national budget is now tilting in one direction in this country.”

But stung by Kwankwaso’s allegations,  the Federal Government, in a response, flaunted the number of projects domiciled in the North by the Tinubu administration

In a statement, Sunday  Dare, one of President Tinubu’s Media Aides, put a lie to Kwankwaso’s claims by listing the projects situated in the North by the current Government.

The President, Dare noted,  has the north covered and emphasised: “Northern Nigeria is not left behind.”

He listed, as seen below, evidences to back his response to Kwankwaso.

He said:

“For starters, under President Tinubu,

Abuja-Kaduna-kano Expressway

Sokoto-Badagry Expressway

Sokoto-Zamfara-Katsina Expressway.

• AGRICULTURE

1. \$158.15m Agriculture Value Chain (VCN) Programme for nine Northern states
2. Kolmani Integrated Development Project (Bauchi and Gombe States)
3. Agro-Climatic Resilience in Semi-Arid Landscapes (ACReSAL) — a six-year World Bank–funded programme to restore 1 million hectares of degraded land and improve climate resilience in Northern Nigeria states
4. Kano River Project (irrigation scheme) — large-scale integrated irrigation development in Kano State, commissioned in 2023 and operational under the current administration.

• HEALTH

5. Ahmadu Bello University Teaching Hospital, Zaria, Kaduna (North West)
6. Federal Teaching Hospital, Katsina (North West)
7. University of Jos Teaching Hospital, Jos, Plateau (North Central)
8. Reference Hospital, Kaduna (North West)
9. Usmanu Danfodiyo University Teaching Hospital, Sokoto (North West)
10. Abubakar Tafawa Balewa University Teaching Hospital, Bauchi (North East)
11. Harmony Advanced Diagnostic Centre Complex, Ilorin, Kwara (North Central)
12. Federal Medical Centre, Nguru, Yobe (North East)
13. Jos University Teaching Hospital, Jos, Plateau (North Central) — additional expansion
14. Reinvigoration of about 1,000 Primary Health Centers, PHCS in the North

• ROADS AND HIGHWAYS

15. Kano–Kongolam Road (Section II: Kano–Kanwar–Danja–Hadejia)
16. Yakasai–Zalli Road
17. 1,068 km Sokoto-Badagry Super Highway (Northern section including Sokoto and Kebbi)
18. 258 km, 3-lane Carriageway (Section 2, Phase 2A: CH 120+000–CH 378+000) in Gulumbe, Kebbi State

19.Abuja–Kaduna–Zaria–Kano Dual Carriageway

20.Biu–Kangiwa–Kamba–Gaya–Niger Republic Road (30 km segment)

21. Malando–Garin Baka–Ngaski–Wara Road (CH.0+000 – CH.79+586)

22.Koko–Besse–Zaria–Kala Road

23. Abuja–Kaduna–Kano Highway (375 km)
24. Repair of the Gamboru Bridge (Gamboru–Ngala–Kala–Balde Road in Borno State)
25. Expansion of Mararaba–Keffi Road (43.65 km)
26. Construction of Lafia Bypass Road (Nasarawa State)
27. Kano–Maiduguri Dual Carriageway
28. Adamawa–Taraba Single Carriageway
29. Adamawa–Borno Single Carriageway
30. Kaduna–Jos Road (Single Carriageway)

31.Zaria–Funtua–Gusau–Sokoto Road (Dual Carriageway)

32. Zaria–Hunkuyi–Daya Road (Sections I, II & III – 152.67 km) — rehabilitation project in Kaduna and Kano States
33. Reconstruction of Dikwa–Gamboru–Ngala Road (49.55 km) — strategic corridor reconstruction in Borno State.

• ENERGY AND GAS

34.Ajaokuta–Kaduna–Kano Gas Pipeline (AKK) (614 km)

35. Gwagwalada Power Plant (FCT, Abuja – connected with AKK pipeline)
36. ABIBA Solar Power Station, Kaduna (50 MW) — planned solar power plant to boost renewable energy capacity in Kaduna State.

• RAIL AND METRO

37. Kaduna–Kano Rail Line (203 km, part of Lagos-Kano Rail Project)
38. Kano–Maradi Rail Line (285 km, linking Kano, Jigawa, Katsina to Maradi in Niger Republic)
39. Kaduna Light Rail System — ₦100 billion budget allocation to develop light rail public transport in Kaduna
40. Abuja Metro Line Rehabilitation (Abuja Light Rail)

• WATERWAYS & TRADE CORRIDORS

41. Trans-Sahara Trade Route — infrastructure development to connect trade routes from Calabar through Nasarawa and Abuja towards Northern Nigeria and beyond.

• NATIONAL PROGRAMMES & INSTITUTIONS

42. National Agency for the Great Green Wall (NAGGW) — renewed mandate and leadership for desertification combat in Northern Nigeria
43. Nigeria Erosion and Watershed Management Project (NEWMAP) — ongoing erosion control and watershed infrastructure development in the North.”