Pan-Yoruba socio-political group, Afenifere, has faulted recent comments by former Kano State governor and NNPP presidential candidate, Senator Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso, accusing President Bola Tinubu of sidelining the North in terms of federal development.
In a statement released by its National Organising Secretary, Otunba Kole Omololu, Afenifere described Kwankwaso’s comments as “false, incendiary, and dangerous,” warning that such statements could deepen regional tensions across the country.
Kwankwaso, while speaking at a stakeholders’ meeting on the 2025 constitutional amendment in Kano, alleged that Tinubu’s administration was marginalizing the North in the distribution of national projects and resources.
But Afenifere strongly disagreed, stating that the South has historically been the region left behind, and Tinubu’s presidency has not shown any form of bias in favour of the South.
“Development is a gradual process, and Tinubu has not even reached the halfway point of his tenure. It is unfair to accuse him of neglecting the North when several key projects are already ongoing across the region,” Omololu said.
The group listed ongoing projects in the North such as the dualisation of the Kano–Maiduguri Road, Sokoto–Tambuwal–Jega Road, and the Abuja–Keffi–Lafia corridor. It also noted progress on the Ajaokuta–Kaduna–Kano gas pipeline and recent infrastructure funding in Katsina, Borno, and Niger states.
Afenifere urged leaders like Kwankwaso to speak responsibly and focus on unity rather than division.
“We must rise above ethnic saboteurs and sectional agitators masquerading as patriots. Let statesmen, not ethnic lords, shape the national conversation,” the statement concluded.
