Northern Elders Forum (NEF) criticises the Tinubu administration for “lopsided” infrastructure funding, alleging systematic exclusion of Northern Nigeria, particularly the North East, in road and rail projects
Northern elders, under the auspices of the Northern Elders Forum (NEF), on Wednesday declared that the exclusion of Northern Nigeria from critical infrastructural development by the Tinubu-led administration is “unacceptable.”
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In a statement titled ‘Northern Nigeria’s Exclusion from Critical Road and Rail Infrastructure Funding: A National Failure Demanding Immediate Redress’ and signed by NEF Spokesperson, Prof Abubakar Jika Jiddere, the forum described the Federal Government’s recently approved allocation of funds for various road projects as a “lopsidedness in the allocation of funds to the disadvantage of the North.”
Jiddere accused the federal government of a recent pattern of capital investment that “reveals a troubling regional imbalance that heavily favours Southern Nigeria, while ignoring the urgent infrastructure needs of the North.
The recent pattern of capital investment reveals a troubling regional imbalance that heavily favours Southern Nigeria, while ignoring the urgent infrastructure needs of the North, especially the North East, which remains the most fragile and underserved part of the country
He articulated the NEF’s grave concern over what amounts to “the systematic exclusion of Northern Nigeria in the allocation of federal infrastructure funding, particularly in road and railway development.”
Jiddere stressed that this imbalance is particularly worrying given the North’s urgent infrastructure needs, especially the North East, which remains “the most fragile and underserved part of the country.”
While acknowledging certain projects in the North, Jiddere argued their inadequacy: “While the government points to projects such as the Abuja–Kano Expressway (₦252 billion) and the Wusasa–Jos Road (₦18 billion) in the North Central and North West as evidence of inclusion, these are insufficient and largely tokenistic when compared to the massive allocations directed to Southern States.”
To illustrate the alleged disparity in current federal infrastructure allocations, the NEF provided several examples:
- Lagos–Calabar Coastal Highway: ₦1.344 trillion
- Delta State section of Lagos–Calabar Coastal Highway: ₦470.9 billion
- Second Niger Bridge (completion): ₦148 billion
- Lagos–Ibadan Expressway (Phase 2): ₦195 billion
- Lokoja–Benin Road: ₦305 billion
- Third Mainland Bridge (Lagos – structural evaluation): ₦3.571 billion
- Ado–Ikere–Igede Road (South West): ₦5.4 billion
- Onitsha–Owerri Expressway: ₦22 billion
- Abuja–Kano Expressway (North): ₦252 billion
- Wusasa–Jos Road (North): ₦18 billion
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The NEF’s statement underscores a growing concern among Northern leaders regarding equitable distribution of national resources for development.
