APC chairman: Tinubu transforming Kano into Northern Nigeria’s economic capital

The National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Professor Nentawe Yilwatda, has declared that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s administration is executing a deliberate economic masterplan to reposition Kano State as the commercial and industrial hub of Northern Nigeria and a gateway for trade across West Africa.

Yilwatda stated this at the weekend in Abuja, describing the Federal Government’s infrastructure investments across Kano and the wider Northern corridor as part of a coordinated strategy to restore the ancient city to its historic status as the economic heartbeat of the region.

“President Bola Ahmed Tinubu is not merely developing Kano; he is redesigning the economic future of Northern Nigeria through Kano,” he said in a statement signed by his Special Adviser on Media and Communications Strategy, Abimbola Tooki.

The APC chairman highlighted several flagship projects he said the Tinubu administration is pursuing to achieve this vision.

These include the Kaduna–Kano standard gauge railway, expected to be operational this year, which will connect Kano directly to Abuja and Southern Nigeria; and the Kano–Maradi rail line linking Kano to Niger Republic and the broader Sahel trade belt, with a target completion of 2026/2027.

Other projects cited include the newly approved Kano Metropolitan Rail Service, the Ajaokuta–Kaduna–Kano (AKK) Gas Pipeline to power factories and industrial parks across the North, and the ongoing rehabilitation of the Abuja–Kaduna–Zaria–Kano road corridor.

The Sokoto–Badagry Super Highway, which Yilwatda said will link Northern agricultural belts to Southern export markets, was also listed among the transformative projects.

The APC chairman argued that Kano’s strategic importance made it the natural anchor for Tinubu’s Northern development agenda, noting the city’s geographical position as Nigeria’s gateway to Niger, Chad and Francophone West Africa, its historical strength in textiles, leather and agro-processing, and its potential to become Nigeria’s second dominant commercial city after Lagos.

Yilwatda also took aim at opposition parties, accusing them of focusing on propaganda and political rivalry rather than offering alternative development blueprints.

“While President Tinubu is building the infrastructure backbone that will transform the North for generations, the opposition is busy chasing personal ambition and power for its own sake,” he said.

He predicted that history would judge Tinubu favourably for the scale of investment being directed at the North.