by Zainab Imam
The Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF) has accused the administration of President Bola Tinubu of marginalising Northern Nigeria in federal budget allocations and infrastructure development, warning that the region may withdraw its electoral support in 2027.
Speaking at a two-day interactive government–citizen engagement organised by the Sir Ahmadu Bello Memorial Foundation in Kaduna State, the Chairman of the ACF Board of Trustees, Bashir Dalhatu, said the North has been sidelined in key policy decisions and project implementation despite the region’s significant support for President Tinubu during the 2023 general elections.
To underscore what he described as systemic marginalisation, Dalhatu cited figures from the 2025 federal budget. According to him, out of the ₦1.013 trillion allocated to road projects nationwide, only ₦24 billion—less than one per cent—was earmarked for road projects in the North-East.
“In addition to its natural disadvantages, Northern Nigeria also suffers from age-old neglect by the federal government in the development of transportation infrastructure,” he said.
“Unlike the Lagos–Ibadan Expressway and the Second Niger Bridge, not a single road of strategic importance to the North has been completed or even properly maintained in the last twenty years. This year’s federal budget for roads is ₦1.013 trillion, yet only ₦24 billion—less than one per cent—was allocated to the North-East.”
Dalhatu further referenced a May 2025 press release by the Federal Ministry of Works, criticising what he described as a lopsided regional distribution of road funding. He listed the allocations as follows: South-West — ₦1.394 trillion; South-East — ₦205 billion; North-West — ₦105 billion; and North-East — ₦30 billion.
“Sadly, this discriminatory practice is no longer done quietly,” he added. “It is now carried out openly and unapologetically, and presented to us without any attempt at justification.”
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