By Soni Daniel, North Regional Editor, Anayo Okoli, Sam Oyadongha, Peter Duru & Ibrahim Hassan-Wuyo
ABUJA — President Bola Tinubu has said his administration will ensure equitable development of all regions of the country with no area left behind.
He gave the assurance, yesterday, in Kaduna at a two-day interactive session on government-citizens’ engagement organised by the Sir Ahmadu Bello Memorial Foundation.
He said the ministers’ interactions with stakeholders at the event will unveil empirical facts and figures that the North was not neglected.
Tinubu, represented by the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, SGF, Senator George Akume, highlighted key achievements under the Renewed Hope Agenda, including interventions in economic reforms, education, health, security, infrastructure and food security.
Northern governors and National Security Adviser, Mallam Nuhu Ribadu, concurred with the President, with the governors reaffirming support for Tinubu, and Ribadu saying that Boko Haram and bandits’ attacks have declined under Tinubu’s watch.
Former SGF, Babachir Lawal, and chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Arewa Consultative Forum, ACF, Alhaji Bashir M. Dalhatu, echoed Dr. Rabiu Kwankwaso’s criticism of President Tinubu’s administration, alleging deliberate neglect of Northern Nigeria in terms of infrastructural development.
How I’m developing Nigeria – Tinubu
On economic reforms, the president said his administration had implemented bold reforms to stabilise and grow the economy, including unifying the exchange rate and restructuring debt profiles.
Tinubu stressed that investments had been made in modernising security equipment and up-skilling personnel.
He listed major projects to include the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway, the Sokoto-Badagry super-highway, ongoing rail projects (Kano-Maradi, Port Harcourt-Maiduguri), and housing initiatives.
Tinubu also highlighted the Renewed Hope Agenda’s priorities to include reforming the economy for sustained growth, strengthening national security, boosting agriculture for food security, unlocking energy and natural resources, and enhancing infrastructure and transportation.
Others are focusing on education, health, and social investment, accelerating diversification through industrialisation and innovation as well as improving governance for effective service delivery.
“The removal of fuel subsidy, though painful, has been a necessary reform that saved trillions of Naira.
“The Palliative Measures Plan and interventions through state governments, MSME support, and public transportation upgrades are mitigating the impacts.
“The savings are now being redirected into critical infrastructure and human development, while states are receiving increased allocations for development,” Tinubu said.
Govt-citizens engagement
Reflecting on the theme of the event, ‘Assessing Electoral Promises: Fostering Government-Citizen Engagement for National Development,’ he said the Renewed Hope Agenda has been a pragmatic vision built on pillars of good governance.
They include transparency, accountability, participation, responsiveness, equity, rule of law, and inclusivity, going beyond just a campaign slogan.
His words: “The economic reform strategies are designed to create a robust, diversified, and resilient economy.
“By fostering an environment conducive to investment and innovation, the administration aims to stimulate growth across all sectors, reduce unemployment, and ensure equitable wealth distribution.
“Security is the bedrock of national development.
“The focus here is on enhancing the capabilities of our security forces, promoting peace and stability, and ensuring that every Nigerian feels safe and protected, no matter where they reside.
“Agriculture holds the key to our nation’s self-sufficiency and economic empowerment.”
According to Tinubu, this is by modernising farming practices, increasing access to finance, and expanding market opportunities for farmers.
“This administration places Nigeria on a path to achieving food security and transforming our country into an agricultural powerhouse. Through reforms, the government is unlocking the potential of Nigeria’s vast natural resources and energy sector.
“Through sustainable management, increased investments, and the adoption of modern technologies, the goal remains to drive economic growth and ensure environmental sustainability,” the president added.
According to him, over 400,000 students in tertiary institutions had so far benefitted from the Students’ Loan Programme, while an estimated N53 billion had been disbursed.
He also highlighted the importance of patience and collective efforts in achieving the agenda’s goals.
Tinubu extolled the virtues of the late Premier of Northern Nigeria, Sir Ahmadu Bello, describing him as a phenomenal being who promoted national cohesion and unity in Nigeria.
He also saluted the courage, sincerity, and patriotism of other leaders such as Chief Solomon Lar, Mallam Adamu Ciroma, Shehu Dan Musa, Abubakar Rimi, Prof. Suleman Kumo, Issac Shaahu, Prof. Jerry Gana, and others.
Northern govs reaffirm support for Tinubu
Speaking at the event, Governor Muhammadu Yahaya of Gombe State and chairman of the Northern States Governors Forum, reaffirmed the region’s commitment to the administration of President Tinubu, citing significant strides in infrastructure, security, and economic reform.
Governor Yahaya, who made the opening remarks, said the gathering was not about empty rhetoric but an opportunity to critically examine the performance of the Federal Government, particularly in relation to promises made during the 2023 campaign.
“When candidate Bola Tinubu stood before us, he made specific commitments to Northern Nigeria. The North believed in his vision and delivered over 60% of the votes that brought him to power,” he noted.
According to him, the region is already seeing the dividends of that political alliance. He listed several key projects under implementation, including the Abuja-Kaduna-Kano Expressway, the Kano-Katsina-Maradi rail line, rehabilitation of the Kaduna Refinery, the Abuja-Kaduna-Kano Gas Pipeline, and continued oil drilling at the Kolmani Oilfields.
“These projects are proof that when citizens engage and leaders remain committed, democracy works. The Renewed Hope Agenda is beginning to yield tangible results,” he added.
Governor Yahaya further highlighted emerging infrastructure projects such as the proposed Sokoto-Badagry Super-highway, improvements in inter-state road networks, agriculture value chain initiatives, and healthcare upgrades. He emphasized that these reflect a clear policy focus on uplifting the North’s economic and social landscape.
On security, he said over 300 bandit and terrorist commanders have been eliminated in recent months through improved military coordination and intelligence efforts, asserting that “while challenges remain, the siege on our people is being lifted.”
He also commended the creation of the Ministry of Livestock Development as a strategic move to modernize the pastoral economy and resolve long-standing herder-farmer conflicts. On youth and education, he praised the Federal Government’s interventions, particularly grants and renewed efforts to tackle the Almajirai and out-of-school children problem through partnerships with state governments and traditional institutions.
Addressing the economic reforms introduced by the Tinubu administration—including fuel subsidy removal and exchange rate liberalization—Governor Yahaya acknowledged the hardship faced by citizens, but defended the decisions as “painful but necessary steps” towards long-term economic stability.
To sustain the gains recorded so far, he called on all stakeholders in the North — governors, traditional rulers, religious leaders, business leaders, and civil society—to complement federal efforts with robust local initiatives in infrastructure, education, and social development.
He urged the audience to evaluate the administration’s performance fairly, especially in the build-up to the 2027 general elections. “By the measure of performance and delivery, President Tinubu has earned our continued support,” he declared.
Boko Haram, bandit attacks down under Tinubu — NSA Ribadu
Also speaking, Ribadu, has said that incidents of Boko Haram attacks, banditry, and communal violence in the northern region have significantly reduced under President Tinubu’s administration, compared to the previous government.
Ribadu attributed the decline to Tinubu’s directive for a unified approach to national security, saying: “Kaduna State alone recorded 1,192 killings and over 3,348 kidnappings under the previous administration. In Benue, over 5,000 people lost their lives within the same period.”
He disclosed that ongoing military operations in the North-West have resulted in the rescue of 11,259 hostages as of May 2025, and that several notorious bandit leaders and their groups have been neutralised in Zamfara, Kaduna, and Katsina states.
The NSA praised Kaduna State Governor, Uba Sani, for adopting a non-kinetic strategy to address unrest in Southern Kaduna, Birnin Gwari, and other flashpoints, describing the approach as “commendable and impactful.”
North marginalised under Tinubu — Dalhatu, ACF chair
However, chairman of the ACF BOT, Alhaji Bashir M. Dalhatu, expressed deep concerns over what he described as growing marginalisation of Northern Nigeria under the administration of President Tinubu.
Speaking at the high-level interactive session between Northern civil society groups and senior officials of the Federal Government in Kaduna, Dalhatu recalled the region’s strong electoral support for President Tinubu, contributing over 64% of his total votes in the 2023 presidential election.
“Despite our support and goodwill, the feeling in the North is, to put it mildly, completely mixed. Key infrastructural projects, budgetary allocations, appointments, and policy decisions have largely sidelined Northern Nigeria,” Dalhatu said.
He cited critical areas of neglect including insecurity, agriculture, transport infrastructure, power supply, education, healthcare, and the abandonment of strategic projects like the Ajaokuta Steel Plant and Kolmani oil exploration.
On insecurity, he decried the rising wave of terrorism, banditry, and kidnappings, urging the President to take “strong, audacious and sustained” action, especially by addressing root causes like youth unemployment and poverty.
Turning to federal infrastructure, he pointed out that out of ¦ 1.013 trillion allocated to roads in 2025, only ¦ 24 billion went to the North-East. “Not a single strategic road has been completed or maintained in the North in the past 20 years,” he said, listing over a dozen critical highway routes long neglected.
On power supply, the ACF chair called for a state of emergency in the sector and demanded fast-tracking of stalled projects like the Mambilla Hydro Dam and the Abuja-Kaduna-Kano gas pipeline, saying the North’s economy cannot grow without reliable electricity.
Dalhatu also urged the relaunch of the UBE scheme, mass teacher training, and compulsory free basic education to tackle the North’s education crisis, where over 80% of Nigeria’s 20 million out-of-school children reside.
He expressed disappointment over the Federal Government’s “meagre” commitment to the Ajaokuta Steel Project, despite earlier promises, and warned that the push for public-private partnerships may derail the project’s industrial promise.
His speech also criticised perceived budgetary discrimination, pointing to a May 2025 Ministry of Works release showing allocations of ¦ 1.394 trillion to the South-West, compared to ¦ 105 billion for the North-West and ¦ 30 billion for the North-East.
He concluded by calling for improved communication between the Federal Government and the North, recommending that the interactive session evolve into a standing ACF-FGN Contact Committee as earlier suggested by President Tinubu.
Kwankwaso is right, Tinubu marginalising North — Babachir Lawal
However, in an interview on Sunday Politics, a current affairs programme on Trust TV, former SGF, David Babachir Lawal stated that there is a lack of tangible federal projects in the North.
“Every Nigerian that has anything to do with the North will know that no infrastructure work is going on at any level. 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,” Babachir Lawal said and defended Dr Musa Kwankwaso’s earlier assertions about neglect.
He noted 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— 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.”
Real devt should be premised on restructuring – Ohanaeze
To apex Igbo socio-cultural organisation, Ohanaeze Ndigbo, “authentic development should be premised on restructuring, current system has made everybody Abuja dependent.”
National Publicity Secretary of Ohanaeze, Dr Ezechi Chukwu, said: “We ought to revisit our foundation as a nation to ensure a polity which stimulates industry and economic vibrancy of the federating units, rather than dependence on monthly federal allocation.
This is the rationale for our clamour to restructure the status quo. If the foundations are not strong, the development would be fragile.”
Niger-Delta’s maltreated – PANDEF
Reacting, National Spokesman of the Pan-Niger-Delta Forum, PANDEF, Obiuwevbi Ominimini, said the region which over the years has been the mainstay of the nation economy has not been treated fairly.
His words: “Frankly speaking, PANDEF shall be very happy if the South-South geopolitical zone can be given fair treatment like the other regions. For example, the number of ministers from the South-West far outnumbered the ministers from the South-South geopolitical zone. That is one of the areas we want Mr. President to correct if he says all regions will be treated equally.
“Secondly, our children are not given favourable employment in federal parastatals and ministries such as Customs, Immigration and even in the military, in the Nigeria Defence Academy we don’t have a commensurate number of people in all these areas compared to other geopolitical zones. So, we want Mr. President to correct this. We also want the Niger-Delta to be connected to the Federal capital territory with train services. The only train line that comes from the Niger Delta from Ujewu ended in Itakpe.
“In fact, if you get to the NNPC, people speak Hausa there as if you are in a local Hausa community because the NNPC has been flooded with Northerners as against the Niger-Delta that produce the oil and gas.
“Also, the only road we have in the Niger Delta- the East-West road, our people cannot travel from Benin to Warri- Ughelli-Yenagoa -Port Harcourt and to Uyo and Calabar-Itu road is bad. We cannot travel easily. We are not talking of other federal roads that are so dilapidated. It is a shame that for two years of this administration the East-West road has not been fixed.”
Pledge of equitable devt across Nigeria, promise from election seeking politicians – MBF
Similarly, the Middle Belt Forum, MBF, said President Tinubu’s promise to ensure equitable development of all regions of the country could be a promise from one seeking re-election.
The President of the MBF, Dr. Bitrus Pogu, pointed out that the promise might not be feasible, given the current state of the country’s economy.
He said: “Anybody who wants to be elected into office would always say such things to convince the electorate because of his aspiration to get elected.
“But whether he understands equity and equitable is another thing. And whether he is also going to do it is another thing altogether.
“Our prayers are that he does it. But with the kind of economy we are having under his administration, it is doubtful. Though we are seeing some magic in the FCT, how I wish he can also translate that magic to other parts of the country, outside the FCT.
“We only can pray for him that the economy will be able to sustain what he says he would do. We wish him well.”
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