The presidency has responded to the allegations made by Rabiu Kwankwaso that the North has been neglected by the administration of President Bola Tinubu.
The Special Adviser to the President on Media and Public Communication, Sunday Dare, made the rebuttal in a statement on Friday.
According to Dare, the Tinubu administration is already carrying out several critical projects and programmes in the region.
“The claim that Northern Nigeria has been left behind is incorrect. The Tinubu administration has initiated and continued several landmark projects in the North, covering roads, agriculture, healthcare, and energy,” the statement said.
Dare said that such projects include infrastructure, health, energy, and agricultural projects.
He pointed to the Abuja–Kaduna–Kano Expressway, the Sokoto–Badagry Super Highway, and the Ajaokuta–Kaduna–Kano Gas Pipeline, among others.
Dare highlighted a $158.15 million agriculture value chain programme across nine northern states and the Kolmani Integrated Development Project in Bauchi and Gombe.
Other interventions, according to the statement, include the Agro-Climatic Resilience in Semi-Arid Landscapes (ACReSAL) project, which aims to restore one million hectares of degraded land.
The presidential aide highlighted facilities such as Ahmadu Bello University Teaching Hospital, Zaria; University of Jos Teaching Hospital; and the Federal Medical Centre, Nguru, among others, as beneficiaries of expansions and new investments.
He also noted the revitalisation of about 1,000 primary health centres in the North.
Dare further noted that major road projects include the Kano–Kongolam Road, Kaduna–Jos Road, the Kano–Maiduguri Dual Carriageway, and the rehabilitation of key corridors in Borno and Adamawa states.
He stressed some energy projects embarked on by the administration, pointing to the ongoing 614 km Ajaokuta–Kaduna–Kano Gas Pipeline, the Gwagwalada Power Plant, and planned solar projects in Kaduna.
He also mentioned rail projects including the Kaduna–Kano Rail Line, the Kano–Maradi Rail Line, and the Abuja Metro rehabilitation.
This was in response to Kwankwaso, the presidential candidate of the New Nigeria Peoples Party, NNPP, in the last general election, who warned that national resources were increasingly tilted towards the southern region, resulting in deepening poverty and insecurity across the North.
