Worried by the alleged exclusion of the North-west region from the recently approved road projects worth 3.9trillion naira, the Coalition of Northern Groups (CNG) has advised the federal government to take a second look at it.
In a statement on Monday by CNG national coordinator, Comrade Jamilu Aliyu Charanchi, the group said the omission should not just be dismissed as an administrative oversight.
“The Coalition of Northern Groups (CNG) expresses disappointment over the approval by the FEC of 27 federal road projects worth over ₦3.9 trillion across 15 states while deliberately excluding all seven states of the North-West—Kaduna, Kano, Katsina, Jigawa, Kebbi, Sokoto and Zamfara.
“This omission should not be seen as an administrative oversight considering the region’s political investment in the emergence of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu in the 2023 presidential election.
“The North-west stood firmly behind President Tinubu when it delivered millions of votes, mobilised its political structures and defended the APC across difficult political terrain.
“More painful is the fact that the North-west is home to some of the country’s busiest and most economically strategic federal highways. From the Kano-Katsina-Maradi corridor to the Sokoto-Gusau-Funtua axis, from the Kaduna-Birnin Gwari corridor to numerous roads linking many towns and cities, these routes serve agriculture, trade, industry and national security.
He argued that despite repeated assurances by the government, commuters continue to face security challenges, accidents, traffic delays and economic losses on these roads.
CNG said the development appeared inconsistent with the federal government’s commitment to equity, inclusion and balanced national development.
According to the statement, “No government should preside over the complete exclusion of an entire geopolitical zone comprising seven states from a strategic national infrastructure intervention of this magnitude.
It called on political leaders from the region to speak up rather silent.
“Their continued silence raises serious questions about whose interests they truly represent. Political offices were not entrusted to them merely to occupy prestigious positions, but were elected to protect and advance the interests of the people who entrusted them with leadership.
“The region contributes to the economy significantly on agricultural produce, livestock, manufactured goods and cross-border trade. Neglecting its road infrastructure is an economic disservice to Nigeria.
“We therefore demand the immediate review of the approved road projects to accommodate critical federal highways across the seven North-west states. At the very minimum, the federal government must urgently accelerate the completion of the Abuja–Kaduna–Kano Expressway and announce new interventions covering other neglected strategic roads across the region.
“The people of the North-west deserve infrastructure commensurate with their enormous contributions to the Nigerian economy and democracy, not abandonment after the ballots have been counted.”