Presidential aide replies Kwankwaso: North not marginalised under Tinubu, list 43 achievements

In a bold rebuttal to recent criticism from Senator Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso, former minister and presidential aide Sunday Dare has listed 43 projects and programmes executed under President Bola Tinubu’s administration to argue that Northern Nigeria has not been left behind.

Dare’s statement, titled “Senator Kwankwaso, You Are Wrong. North Not Neglected,” was a direct response to allegations that the Tinubu administration had sidelined the North.

According to Dare, “President Tinubu has the North covered,” citing massive investments in roads, health, agriculture, energy, rail, and national development programs.

His full statement reads;

SENATOR KWANKWOSO. YOU ARE WRONG. NORTH NOT NEGLECTED.
PRESIDENT TINUBU HAS THE NORTH COVERED
NORTHERN NIGERIA NOT LEFT BEHIND.
SOME SAMPLERS/ EVIDENCE

SOME Federal Government Projects across Northern Nigeria Under President Tinubu’s Administration

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.
All of these in only two years by President Tinubu @officialABAT