The Northern Elders Forum, NEF, has accused the President Bola Tinubu-led Federal Government of marginalizing northern Nigeria.
The Forum, while expressing sadness over the allocation of capital projects, described the distribution of infrastructure funding as “lopsided”; and warned that continued neglect of the region could threaten national unity.
In a statement signed by its spokesperson, Professor Abubakar Jika Jiddere, the Forum pointed to massive investments in southern projects such as the Lagos–Calabar Coastal Highway, which received N1.34 trillion, and the Second Niger Bridge, with N148 billion in funding.
In contrast, the Forum cited what it termed as “token”; allocations to Northern projects like the Abuja–Kano Expressway (N252 billion) and the Wusasa–Jos Road (N18 billion).
The Forum also highlighted the alleged total neglect of key roads in the North East, particularly the Jalingo–Numan–Yola–Bama and Bauchi–Gombe highways.
NEF further expressed concern over the alleged deteriorating rail infrastructure in the region, singling out the dormant Port Harcourt–Maiduguri Eastern Rail Line, which has remained inactive for over a decade.
It noted that modern rail initiatives are being concentrated in southern parts of the country.
“The systematic exclusion of Northern Nigeria from major infrastructure investments is not just an economic oversight it is a national threat. It deepens inequality, fuels regional resentment, and endangers the unity of the Republic,”; NEF stated.
The NEF passionately called for the immediate inclusion of the region in the national infrastructure plan.
The Forum also demanded a public explanation from the Ministry of Works and the Nigerian Railway Corporation, and a formal commitment from Northern lawmakers to address the imbalance.
