From Romanus Ugwu
The Kaduna State government has stated that it is factually incorrect and an unfair assessment to claim that President Bola Tinubu has not done much for the northern part of the country.
The state’s Commissioner for Information, Ahmed Maiyaki, expressed this concern while speaking to journalists during a project inspection with the presidency’s media team in Kaduna. He enumerated several landmark projects that President Tinubu has executed thus far.
The Kaduna-Kano railway project is one of President Tinubu’s major undertakings and is already over 65 per cent complete. This project connects a vital hub for commerce and economic prosperity, not only for northern Nigeria but also across to the Niger Republic.
“This is one important project that will help strengthen business activities. The station in Kano will connect to the Dala Dry Inland Port, which means goods from the Lagos ocean can be cleared and transported to Dala Port for final clearance,” Maiyaki said. “This will further increase the lifespan of our roads because one of the challenges facing our roads is the heavy trucks using them.
“But with the train, we will be able to move the goods directly to the Dry Port in Dala, Kano, to increase commerce and economic activities in this area. This is one of the most important projects undertaken by the government of President Tinubu,” he added.
Highlighting President Tinubu’s achievements, Maiyaki said: “Let me use this opportunity to thank Mr President because the road we are standing on, which leads to Birnin Gwari, had been abandoned for over two decades. However, Mr President recently granted approval for the construction from Mando roundabout to Birnin Gwari, which is about 105km. It is a very important project for Kaduna State.”
“We must equally acknowledge that the FEC [Federal Executive Council] also approved the construction of the light rail project for Kaduna State. These legacy projects were approved for three states comprising Lagos, Kaduna and Kano. Two of the states are from the North. It is a project that will gulp about N1 trillion.
“So, for anybody to claim that the current administration of President Tinubu has abandoned the North is not true. We must thank Mr President for these legacy projects that will live for our future generations to see. Mr President has also constructed a solar power project to take the National Defence Academy (NDA) off the national grid. About 20 universities in Nigeria, including the NDA, have had a share of this solar project, and another is ongoing at ABU Zaria. Kaduna is the only state that received two of these projects.
“Other states are getting one for a federal university, but Kaduna received them for ABU and the NDA. This is something very important to acknowledge; we are waiting to pay back Mr President because the good people of Kaduna appreciate his support and will continue to support him beyond 2027 so that Nigeria will continue to witness this unprecedented and uncommon infrastructural development,” he assured.
Earlier, the project coordination team explained that the Kaduna-Kano railway project is already over 65 per cent complete.
“It will connect Abuja to Kaduna, Kano, Katsina and Maradi. The railway line is 203km and is at 60 per cent completion. The railway line will go through bridges. We have constructed three out of the six stations. The major station is in Kano, which will link to the one in Jigawa and Maradi. It is more of an international hub that will accommodate a capacity of 1,000 passengers.
“The economic advantage is that it will take the load off the roads if completed. And it will provide jobs and can lift freight, which will increase the lifespan of the roads,” the coordinators noted.
Regarding plans to protect the railway, the coordinators noted: “We have security surveillance from Kaduna here to Kano and to Maradi. We are also planning to construct a fence to avoid attacks on the passengers. In terms of maintenance, there is a documented arrangement,” they noted.
