By Charles Pemu 
The Presidency has dismissed recent claims by former Kano State Governor and 2023 NNPP presidential candidate, Senator Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso, alleging that the Tinubu administration has prioritised infrastructure development in Southern Nigeria while neglecting the North.
Kwankwaso, speaking at a constitutional stakeholders’ dialogue in Kano on Thursday, decried the poor state of the Abuja-Kaduna-Kano highway, describing his recent road journey as “hellish,” and accused the Federal Government of shifting its development focus southward.
“From Abuja to Kaduna to Kano was hell. This road has been under construction since the early APC years, and yet we hear of new roads being built in the South,” Kwankwaso said.
Responding via a post on X (formerly Twitter) on Friday, President Bola Tinubu’s Special Adviser on Media and Public Communication, Sunday Dare, refuted the claims, describing them as “incorrect and misleading.”
According to Dare, the Tinubu administration has undertaken and sustained numerous landmark infrastructure and social projects across Northern Nigeria.
“These include major road constructions such as the Abuja-Kaduna-Kano Expressway, Sokoto-Badagry Road, Sokoto-Zamfara-Katsina Road, and the Zaria-Funtua-Gusau-Sokoto Dual Carriageway,” Dare stated.
He further highlighted federal investments in the North’s agricultural sector, notably the $158.15 million Agriculture Value Chain Programme across nine states, the Kolmani Integrated Project in Bauchi and Gombe, and the World Bank–backed ACReSAL initiative targeting over one million hectares of degraded land.
In the health sector, Dare cited ongoing works at Ahmadu Bello University Teaching Hospital, Zaria; Federal Teaching Hospital, Katsina; University of Jos Teaching Hospital; and the rehabilitation of over 1,000 primary healthcare centres across the North.
Rail and energy projects were also spotlighted, including the Kaduna-Kano and Kano-Maradi rail lines, the rehabilitation of Abuja’s light rail system, and the 50 MW ABIBA solar power project in Kaduna.
Dare maintained that President Tinubu’s approach to development is inclusive and regionally balanced.
“In just two years, this administration has laid a solid foundation for long-term development in Northern Nigeria. The notion of regional favouritism is not supported by facts,” he added.
The exchange underscores rising political tensions as infrastructure equity continues to dominate national discourse ahead of further constitutional reforms.