Abuja — A SaharaReporters review of data released by the Bola Tinubu administration on Monday has uncovered inconsistencies in the much-publicized national infrastructure progress report, exposing alleged misrepresentation of projects across Nigeria’s regions.
The report, titled “Infrastructure Equity for Every Region. Progress for Every Nigerian. The Renewed Hope Agenda in Action”, claimed 12 projects were allocated to the North-West. However, findings show that several projects were wrongly listed, inflating the region’s share.
For instance, the 110km Damaturu–Maiduguri road, as well as the Bama and Dikwa roads—all located in Borno and Yobe States in the North-East—were credited to the North-West. Similarly, the Lokoja–Okene dualisation project in Kogi State and the Benue–9th Mile road, both in the North-Central zone, were also listed as North-Western projects.
Further analysis revealed double entries, as some of the same projects misallocated to the North-West were still listed under their actual regions.
The revelations come amid longstanding accusations of regional bias. In April, the Presidency defended Tinubu’s appointments as being based on merit and geographical spread after Senator Ali Ndume (Borno South) accused the government of breaching the federal character principle.
In July, the Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF) also accused the administration of sidelining the North in budget allocations, despite the region delivering over 64% of Tinubu’s total votes in the 2023 elections.
Earlier assessments of the report showed that the South-East and North-East remained the least beneficiaries of federal infrastructure projects, raising further concerns about equity in governance and development.
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