Afenifere Counters Kwankwaso, Says Tinubu Has Not Snubbed the North

The pan-Yoruba socio-political organisation, Afenifere, has rejected claims made by Senator Rabiu Kwankwaso, the 2023 presidential candidate of the New Nigeria People’s Party (NNPP), that President Bola Tinubu’s administration has marginalised northern Nigeria in terms of development.

In a statement released on Monday by its National Organising Secretary, Otunba Kole Omololu, Afenifere described Kwankwaso’s remarks as misleading and dangerous, warning that such rhetoric could deepen regional divisions.

Kwankwaso had made the allegation during the Kano State Stakeholders’ Dialogue on the 2025 Constitutional Amendment, where he claimed that the Tinubu-led federal government was diverting national resources and developmental projects to the South at the expense of the North.

Responding, Afenifere said: “Kwankwaso’s alarmist rhetoric is not only unfair but also deeply dangerous, as it stokes regional tension and paints a false picture of deliberate southern favouritism.”

The group argued that the southern region had suffered prolonged marginalisation over the past decades, particularly in the area of infrastructure and federal presence.

“Development is a gradual process, and President Tinubu has not yet reached the halfway mark of his tenure. It is premature and disingenuous to accuse his government of bias or neglect,” the statement added.

Afenifere went further to list several ongoing federal projects in the North, countering Kwankwaso’s claim of marginalisation. These include the dualisation of the Kano-Maiduguri Road, the Sokoto-Tambuwal-Jega Road, the Abuja-Keffi-Lafia corridor, and the fast-tracking of the Ajaokuta-Kaduna-Kano (AKK) gas pipeline project, which had long been stalled.

The group also cited recent approvals of major infrastructure funding for northern states such as Katsina, Borno, and Niger.

“Less than two years into President Tinubu’s administration, Kwankwaso is already crying foul. Perhaps he is unaware of the significant efforts currently being made across the North,” Afenifere stated.

The Yoruba group cautioned against what it called “ethnic saboteurs and sectional agitators masquerading as patriots,” insisting that national conversations should be guided by facts and unity, not by divisive politics.

“Let statesmen, not ethnic lords, shape the conversation. Nigeria belongs to all of us, and development must be measured with objectivity, not regional sentiment,” the statement concluded.