The New Nigeria Peoples Party’s 2023 presidential candidate, Senator Rabiu Kwankwaso’s claims that that President Bola Tinubu’s government had ignored the North has been refuted. Sunday Dare, the Special Adviser to the President on Media and Public Communication, made this announcement on Friday. He stated that the region was presently experiencing a number of important initiatives and programs.
The assertion that Northern Nigeria has been abandoned is untrue. Roads, agriculture, healthcare, and energy are just a few of the historic projects that the Tinubu administration has started and carried out in the North, according to Dare.
He said, “Kwankwaso’s 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,”
To support the government’s promise, the presidential aide also listed significant energy, health, infrastructure, and agricultural initiatives being carried out throughout Northern states.
He mentioned a few current projects, including the Ajaokuta–Kaduna–Kano Gas Pipeline, the Sokoto–Badagry Super Highway, and the Abuja–Kaduna–Kano Expressway. Dare emphasized the Kolmani Integrated Development Project in Bauchi and Gombe, as well as a $158.15 million agriculture value chain initiative spanning nine northern states. The Agro-Climatic Resilience in Semi-Arid Landscapes (ACReSAL) project, which seeks to rehabilitate one million hectares of degraded land, is one of the additional interventions, the release said.
The presidency used the growth at Ahmadu Bello University Teaching Hospital, University of Jos Teaching Hospital, and Federal Medical Center, Nguru, as well as the restoration of 1,000 basic health centers, to support its commitment to Northern Nigeria. In addition to rail expansions like the Kaduna–Kano and Kano–Maradi lines, Abuja Metro enhancements, and the Kano–Kongolam, Kaduna–Jos, and Kano–Maiduguri highways are important infrastructure projects.
Temitope Ajayi, a presidential assistant, said, “Northern Nigeria is not left behind,” highlighting improvements in train, roads, health, and agriculture.
Rabiu Kwankwaso criticized government resources favoring the South, which exacerbated poverty and insecurity in the North, and this response followed his critique. He referred to a recent road trip from Abuja to Kano as “hell,” emphasizing the bad state of the roads following a flight cancellation.
