The Minister of Works, Sen. Dave Umahi, has refuted Sen. Rabiu Kwankwaso’s claim that President Bola Tinubu’s administration prioritizes road development in southern Nigeria over the northern region. In a statement, Umahi described Kwankwaso’s comments as false and misleading.
Umahi asserted that northern Nigeria, particularly the North-West Geopolitical Zone, has benefited more from federal road projects under the current administration than any other region. He cited the Sokoto-Badagry Superhighway, spanning 1,068 km, with ongoing work in Kebbi and Sokoto states, as a key legacy project that surpasses the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway in length.
He highlighted that at present, northern Nigeria has 756 km of road construction compared to 409 km in southern Nigeria. Major ongoing projects in the north include the dualized Sokoto–Zamfara–Katsina–Kaduna Road and the Abuja–Kaduna–Kano Road, among others.
Umahi emphasized that many projects in southern Nigeria, such as the Lagos–Ibadan Expressway and the Second Niger Bridge access roads, were inherited from previous administrations. He noted that in the NNPCL Tax Credit projects, the North received 53 percent of funding, while the South received 47 percent.
He encouraged Nigerians to disregard Kwankwaso’s claims, asserting that President Tinubu is committed to national development and fairness. Umahi promised to publish a comprehensive list of ongoing and inherited roads across all six geopolitical zones to provide transparency.
