Former Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Babachir Lawal, has echoed Rabiu Kwankwaso’s criticism of President Bola Tinubu’s administration, alleging deliberate neglect of northern Nigeria in terms of infrastructure development.
Speaking during an interview on Sunday Politics, a current affairs programme on Trust TV, Lawal stated that there is a lack of tangible federal projects in the region.
“Every Nigerian that has anything to do with the north will know that no infrastructure work is going on at any level,” he said.
“No projects are going on—at least they are not visible to the eye. Maybe in their imagination, maybe in the spirit—but we don’t see it.
“We don’t see any construction work. We don’t see any infrastructure going on. No federal government project whatsoever.”
Lawal defended Kwankwaso’s earlier assertions about neglect, noting that both he and the former Kano governor share a technical background that makes them attentive to physical development.
“Kwankwaso, remember, is an engineer too—so he, like me, like David Umahi, who’s an engineer too, the way we see things — physical things—the way we see them differently,” he said.
“So, Kwankwaso knows what he’s talking about. And it doesn’t need to be Kwankwaso to say what he said. Every sensible, honest Nigerian will know that the north is being marginalised.”
He further claimed that the administration’s actions suggest an intent to reverse any progress made in the region.
“I believe the sense we get as northerners is that if this government can destroy what they inherited, they’ll willingly do it. That’s the sense we have from this government,” he said.
Lawal also cast doubt on the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC)’s chances in future northern elections, questioning the party’s appeal among northern voters.
“I mean, look at it this way—which elected official, a northerner, will go into the campaign on the platform of the APC in this coming election?” he asked.
“Nobody. Except, ab initio, you have no plan to win the election. Unless they join ADC, they will not win—simply because they belong to the destructive party.”
He didn’t mince words in describing the current administration’s attitude toward the north.
“Everything that this government does is designed to destroy the north,” Lawal claimed.
His remarks build on similar sentiments expressed by Kwankwaso, who had recently accused the Tinubu administration of centralising development efforts in one region while leaving others behind.
In a swift rebuttal, Minister of Works, David Umahi, dismissed Kwankwaso’s argument, calling it “misleading and unfair to the president”.
According to Umahi, 52 percent of the total stretch of Tinubu’s key road initiatives lies within the northern part of the country, including a major section of the Sokoto–Badagry superhighway which covers 756 kilometers in the north.
Backing Umahi, presidential media aide Sunday Dare also defended the administration, insisting that more than 40 key projects and programmes are either ongoing or have been maintained across northern states. He dismissed the allegations as politically motivated.
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