Babachir Lawal supports Kwankwaso, says Tinubu’s govt neglecting Northern Nigeria

Babachir Lawal supports Kwankwaso, says Tinubu’s govt neglecting Northern Nigeria

By Jeffrey Agbo

Former Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Babachir Lawal, has alleged that President Bola Tinubu’s administration is deliberately neglecting Northern Nigeria in terms of infrastructure development, echoeing Senator Rabiu Kwankwaso’s recent remarks.

“Every Nigerian that has anything to do with the north will know that no infrastructure work is going on at any level,” Lawal said during an interview on Sunday Politics, a current affairs programme on Trust TV.

“No projects are going on—at least they are not visible to the eye. Maybe in their imagination, maybe in the spirit—but we don’t see it.

“We don’t see any construction work. We don’t see any infrastructure going on. No federal government project whatsoever.”

Lawal defended Kwankwaso’s earlier assertions about neglect, noting that both he and the former Kano governor share a technical background that makes them attentive to physical development.

“Kwankwaso, remember, is an engineer too—so he, like me, like David Umahi, who’s an engineer too, the way we see things — physical things—the way we see them differently,” he said.

“So, Kwankwaso knows what he’s talking about. And it doesn’t need to be Kwankwaso to say what he said. Every sensible, honest Nigerian will know that the north is being marginalised.”

He further claimed that the administration’s actions suggest an intent to reverse any progress made in the region.

“I believe the sense we get as northerners is that if this government can destroy what they inherited, they’ll willingly do it. That’s the sense we have from this government,” he said.

Lawal also cast doubt on the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC)’s chances in future northern elections, questioning the party’s appeal among northern voters.

“I mean, look at it this way—which elected official, a northerner, will go into the campaign on the platform of the APC in this coming election?” he asked.

“Nobody. Except, ab initio, you have no plan to win the election. Unless they join ADC, they will not win—simply because they belong to the destructive party.”

He added, “Everything that this government does is designed to destroy the north.”