The Renewed Hope Ambassador (RHA) has declared that President Bola Tinubu has delivered laudable transformational projects in the northern part of the country in line with his campaign promise to the people of the North.
This is against the backdrop of insinuations in some quarters that President Tinubu has not kept his promise to the North.
The Director of Media and Publicity of the Ambassadors, Tunde Rahman, said in a statement over the weekend after the conclusion of a media tour of the Federal Government’s projects in the North-West geopolitical zone by the Renewed Hope Ambassadors in collaboration with the Presidential Media Team that the Tinubu administration has kept faith with the North through the government’s interventionist and other projects that are in various stages of completion.
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The tour took the team from Zuba Junction in the Federal Capital Territory to Kaduna, Kano, Jigawa and Kebbi states.
The RHA pointed out that the Federal Government, under the Renewed Hope Agenda, for instance, embarked on 260 special intervention projects across the country through the Federal Ministry of Works, out of which the North-West zone, comprising Kano, Kaduna, Katsina, Jigawa, Sokoto, Kebbi and Zamfara states, has 48 projects under construction.
“This is the highest among the six geopolitical zones in the country in terms of critical intervention infrastructure projects across the country. This is evidence of President Tinubu’s commitment to the development and transformation of the Northern region. These intervention projects will aid transportation, boost trade and agriculture, and foster speedy economic growth,” RHA said.
During the tour, the team witnessed ongoing construction work on the remodelled Abuja-Kaduna-Kano highway with concrete pavement measuring 20 centimetres thick and solar-powered streetlights.
The 82-kilometre Section 1 of the road, being handled by Infiouest International Construction Company, stretching from Zuba Junction to a little after Jere, is virtually completed, save for some 300 metres, while work on Section 2 has already commenced. The completion period is slated for November this year.
In Kaduna, the delegation inspected the Kaduna Western Bye-pass, which had been stalled for over 22 years and on which work has progressed considerably. The 21-kilometre dual carriageway is already around 50% complete, and there is no funding problem.
The most iconic project under construction is the much-talked-about Kaduna-Kano-Katsina-Maradi (Niger Republic) railway line that will connect several states in the North and Niger Republic, thus enabling interstate transportation, agriculture and trade.
On the flyover bridge under construction in Kaduna for that trans-Sahara railway line, the completion date is slated for December 2026.
The Kano end of the Abuja-Kaduna-Kano highway is already at 95% completion. There are also various ongoing projects at the Aminu Kano Teaching Hospital, including the Cardiovascular Centre, Paediatric Centre and Students’ Hostel, which are part of the constituency projects of the Deputy Senate President, Senator Jubril Barau.
The team also inspected the ₦27 billion irrigation project in Garko, a Federal Government Ecological Fund project; the solar project of the Energy Commission of Nigeria; and the 10-hectare Agricultural Incubation Centre constructed by the National Agency for Science and Engineering Infrastructure at Bayero University, Kano, aimed at developing and scaling modern agricultural solutions.
Also in Kano, along the Government Reservation Area on Murtala Mohammed Way, the team inspected the headquarters of the North West Development Commission, one of the interventionist agencies established by the Tinubu administration for the development of the various geopolitical zones.
There is also another ecological fund project worth ₦47 billion in the Wujuwuju-Jakara area, which was initially a Kano State Government project, an erosion gully control project, but was taken over for construction by the Tinubu administration.
In Jigawa, the Jigawa section of the Kaduna-Kano-Katsina-Maradi railway project is virtually completed.
The Kebbi section of the Sokoto-Badagry Super Highway, covering Phases 2A and 2B and stretching from Kilometre 120 to Kilometre 385, is progressing according to schedule.
Site clearance, filling works, stone base and sub-surface works are all progressing steadily, while concrete pavement construction has covered 19 kilometres, including streetlight installation.
The level of completion is put at 40 per cent for Section 2A and 16 per cent for Section 2B.
