Former NNPP presidential candidate, Senator Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso, has accused President Bola Tinubu’s administration of marginalising Northern Nigeria in the allocation of federal resources, while prioritising development in the South.
Kwankwaso made the remarks during a stakeholders’ dialogue hosted by the Kano State Government at the Coronation Hall, Government House, Kano. The event was part of efforts to gather public input on the proposed 2025 constitutional amendments.
Speaking before an audience that included Governor Abba Kabir Yusuf, lawmakers, traditional rulers, and civil society groups, Kwankwaso criticised what he described as a “lopsided” distribution of national resources.
“Most of the national budget now appears to be going in one direction,” he said. “Insecurity and poverty in the North are symptoms of long-standing neglect and mismanagement.”
The former governor of Kano and ex-Minister of Defence also condemned the poor state of infrastructure in the region, citing the deteriorating Abuja-Kaduna-Kano road as a symbol of neglect. “That road project has been dragging on since the early days of APC rule,” he said.
Kwankwaso further alleged that major infrastructure projects in the South are being executed swiftly, while similar efforts in the North remain stalled. “A government that takes resources from across the country and invests only in one part is not acting in the national interest,” he added.
He urged the Tinubu-led administration to adopt a more inclusive and equitable development strategy. “This is the time for the government to change and prove to Nigerians that it belongs to the whole country, not just one part,” Kwankwaso stressed.