By Omeiza Ajayi

ABUJA: The Renewed Hope Ambassadors has declared that President Bola Tinubu has delivered on his campaign promises to the North, citing a series of infrastructure projects, about 48, in various stages of completion across the Northwest geopolitical zone.

In a statement issued by its Director of Media and Publicity, Tunde Rahman, the group said it concluded a media tour conducted in collaboration with the Presidential Media Team.

The tour, which took the team from Zuba Junction in the Federal Capital Territory FCT through Kaduna, Kano, Jigawa and Kebbi States, provided firsthand evidence of the Tinubu administration’s commitment to northern development and pushed back against insinuations that the president had not kept his promises to the region.

“Seeing is believing; those alleging the present government has not been fair to the North in terms of development projects can also go around and see for themselves. There is no doubt that the Tinubu administration has kept faith with the North

“The remonstration to the contrary is either from those still writhing in disbelief in the name of 2027 politics or part of the machination of the opposition politicians”, said Rahman.

The group noted that the Federal Government had embarked on 260 Special Intervention Projects across the country through the Federal Ministry of Works, out of which the Northwest zone — comprising Kano, Kaduna, Katsina, Jigawa, Sokoto, Kebbi and Zamfara states — had 48 projects under construction.

“This is the highest among the six geopolitical zones in the country in terms of critical intervention infrastructure projects,” the RHA said, describing it as evidence of the president’s commitment to the transformation of the northern region.

Among the projects inspected was the remodelled Abuja-Kaduna-Kano highway, being constructed with concrete pavement measuring 20 centimetres thick and fitted with solar-powered streetlights. The 82-kilometre Section 1 of the road, handled by Infiouest International Construction Company and stretching from Zuba Junction to just after Jere, is virtually completed save for about 300 metres, with Section 2 already underway. The completion date for the project is slated for November this year, while the Kano end of the same highway is already at 95 per cent completion.

In Kaduna, the delegation inspected the Kaduna Western Bypass, a 21-kilometre dual carriageway that had been stalled for over 22 years. Work on the project has now progressed to approximately 50 per cent completion, with no funding problems reported.

The most ambitious project on the tour was the Kaduna-Kano-Katsina-Maradi railway line, described by the RHA as the most iconic project under construction.

The trans-Saharan railway line is designed to connect several northern states with the Niger Republic, opening up inter-state transportation, agriculture and trade corridors. A flyover bridge under construction in Kaduna for the railway line is slated for completion in December 2026, while the Jigawa section of the same project is virtually completed.

In Kano, the team inspected a N27 billion irrigation project in Garko under the Federal Government Ecological Fund, the solar project of the Energy Commission of Nigeria, and a 10-hectare Agricultural Incubation Centre constructed by the National Agency for Science and Engineering Infrastructure at Bayero University, aimed at developing and scaling modern agricultural solutions.

A separate ecological fund project worth N47 billion in the Wujuwuju-Jakara area — originally a Kano State Government erosion gully control project — was also inspected after being taken over by the Tinubu administration.

The team equally visited the headquarters of the Northwest Development Commission NWDC along the Government Reservation Area on Murtala Mohammed Way in Kano, one of the interventionist agencies established by the Tinubu administration for the development of the geopolitical zones. Also inspected at the Aminu Kano Teaching Hospital were ongoing projects, including a Cardiovascular Centre, Paediatric Centre and Students’ Hostel, listed as constituency projects of Deputy Senate President, Senator Jubril Barau.

In Kebbi State, the team assessed the Kebbi section of the Sokoto-Badagry Super Highway covering Phases 2A and 2B, stretching from Kilometre 120 to Kilometre 385. Concrete pavement construction had covered 19 kilometres, including street light installation, with the level of completion put at 40 per cent for Section 2A and 16 per cent for Section 2B.

“With these projects, among others under construction and in various stages of completion in the Northwest and across the entire Northern Region in just three years of the President Tinubu administration, the development of the North seems assured,” Rahman said.