Showdown: Tinubu’s Govt Exposes Kwankwaso With Explosive List Of Northern Projects

The Presidency on Friday strongly rebuked former Kano State Governor, Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso, for alleging that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s administration has sidelined northern Nigeria.

Kwankwaso, speaking on Thursday during the Kano State Stakeholders’ Dialogue on the 2025 Constitutional Amendment, criticized the Tinubu-led government for what he called an unbalanced allocation of federal resources—claiming the bulk of development funds were focused on the South, the President’s home region.

“From what we’ve gathered, it seems much of the national budget is being directed towards one part of the country,” Kwankwaso asserted.

Responding swiftly, Presidential aide Sunday Dare dismissed Kwankwaso’s statement as inaccurate, insisting that President Tinubu has prioritized balanced development across all regions, including the North. To back this, Dare released a comprehensive list of infrastructure and development projects currently ongoing or approved in the North under Tinubu’s administration.

Highlights of Northern Projects Under Tinubu:

Roads & Highways:

• Abuja–Kaduna–Zaria–Kano Expressway

• Sokoto–Badagry Super Highway

• Kano–Maiduguri Dual Carriageway

• Lafia Bypass, Kaduna–Jos, and Adamawa–Borno roads

Agriculture:

• $158.15m Agriculture Value Chain programme across 9 states

• Kolmani Integrated Development Project (Bauchi/Gombe)

• World Bank-funded ACReSAL project to restore 1 million hectares of degraded land

Healthcare:

• Major upgrades to hospitals including ABU Zaria, Federal Teaching Hospital Katsina, and ATBU Bauchi

• Over 1,000 Primary Health Centres revitalized

Rail and Metro Projects:

• Kaduna–Kano and Kano–Maradi Rail Lines

• ₦100bn Kaduna Light Rail project

• Abuja Metro Line rehabilitation

Energy:

• Ajaokuta–Kaduna–Kano (AKK) Gas Pipeline

• Gwagwalada Power Plant

• ABIBA 50MW Solar Plant in Kaduna

Other Initiatives:

• Trans-Sahara Trade Corridor

• Renewed mandate for National Agency for the Great Green Wall

• Erosion and watershed control via NEWMAP

Dare emphasized that the projects are part of a balanced national strategy and called Kwankwaso’s comments “unfounded and misleading.”