Kwankwaso Accuses Tinubu Administration of Neglecting Northern Nigeria

The 2023 presidential candidate of the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP), Senator Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso, has criticised President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s administration for allegedly sidelining northern Nigeria in the allocation of national resources.

Speaking on Thursday during the Kano State Stakeholders’ Dialogue on the 2025 Constitutional Amendment, Kwankwaso expressed concern over what he described as the Federal Government’s biased development agenda, which he claims disproportionately favours the southern region of the country, where the president hails from.

“Let me advise the Federal Government on the distribution of federal resources.

From the information available to us, it appears most of the national budget is now tilting in one direction in this country,” he said.

Kwankwaso, a former governor of Kano State and a prominent political figure in the North, further alleged that the All Progressives Congress (APC)-led government is overseeing a lopsided allocation of critical infrastructure and development projects, to the detriment of northern communities.

He warned that this imbalance in resource distribution has exacerbated poverty and insecurity in the region, highlighting the long-term consequences of such governance practices.

“Let me advise those who are struggling by all means to take everything, to remember that some of the issues we have in this part of the country today have to do with the lack of enough resources and the mismanagement of the little that comes in,” Kwankwaso said.

“That is why we have insecurity, we have poverty, and so on. It is happening here mainly, but like a desert, it will spread everywhere.”

The former minister pointed out that most federal roads in northern Nigeria remain in deplorable condition, while significant budget allocations for infrastructure are being channelled to the South.

He called on the Tinubu administration to adopt a more balanced and inclusive approach to national development, urging the government to ensure the equitable distribution of scarce resources across all geopolitical zones.

Kwankwaso’s remarks come amid growing concerns among northern stakeholders about regional marginalisation and a perceived concentration of power and investment in the South.

His comments are likely to deepen ongoing debates around federal character, fairness, and national unity ahead of the 2027 general elections.