The Presidency has dismissed claims by Senator Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso that the administration of President Bola Tinubu is prioritizing infrastructure development in the South at the expense of the North.

Kwankwaso, who was the presidential candidate of the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP) in the 2023 elections, had on Thursday alleged that the North is being sidelined in federal projects and development initiatives. He made the statement during a stakeholders’ dialogue on the 2025 constitutional amendment in Kano.

He specifically decried the poor state of the Abuja-Kaduna-Kano Expressway, describing the experience of traveling on it as “hellish” compared to roads in southern Nigeria.

“Yesterday, I was to come by air; unfortunately, my airline shifted our take-off from 3 p.m. to 8 p.m. I had to come by road. From Abuja to Kaduna to Kano was hell—a terrible, very bad road. This is a road that was started many years ago under the APC government. Now we are being told about a road connecting the South to the East,” he said.

In response, Special Adviser to the President on Media and Public Communication, Mr. Sunday Dare, refuted the allegations in a post on X (formerly Twitter) on Friday, asserting that President Tinubu remains committed to inclusive national development.

“The claim that Northern Nigeria has been left behind is incorrect,” Dare stated. “The Tinubu administration has initiated and sustained several landmark projects in the North across critical sectors including transportation, agriculture, healthcare, and energy.”

He cited major infrastructure projects such as the Abuja-Kaduna-Kano Expressway, the Sokoto-Badagry Expressway, and the Sokoto-Zamfara-Katsina Road.

In agriculture, Dare referenced the $158.15 million Agricultural Value Chain Development Programme covering nine northern states, the Kolmani Integrated Development Project in Bauchi and Gombe, and the World Bank–backed ACReSAL project, which targets the restoration of over one million hectares of degraded land.

The presidential aide also pointed to healthcare interventions, including upgrades 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 region.

On transportation, he listed ongoing rail projects such as the Kaduna-Kano Rail Line, the Kano-Maradi Rail Line linking Nigeria to Niger Republic, and the rehabilitation of Abuja’s light rail system.

Dare maintained that these projects affirm the administration’s balanced approach to national development and its resolve to bridge regional disparities.