By Jude Opara
The Renewed Hope Agenda has said 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 region.
In a statement on Friday, Director of Media & Publicity, Renewed Hope Ambassadors, Tunde Rahman said this is contrary to insinuations in some quarters that President Tinubu has not kept his promise to the North.
Rahman who just led a media tour of federal government’s projects in the Northwest geopolitical zone by the Renewed Hope Ambassadors in collaboration with the Presidential Media Team, said the Tinubu administration has kept faith with the North with the government’s interventionist and other projects that are in various stages of completion.
The tour took the team from Zuba Junction in the Federal Capital Territory to Kaduna, Kano, Jigawa and Kebbi states.
According to the RHA, the federal government under the Renewed Hope Agenda, 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, have 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.
He explained that during the tour, the team witnessed ongoing construction work on the remodeled Abuja-Kaduna-Kano highway with concrete pavement measuring 20 centimetres thick and solar powered streetlights.
“The 82 Kilometres Section 1 of the road 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% completion 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 inter-state transportation, agriculture and trade”.
Rahman also said that the Kano end of the Abuja-Kaduna-Kano highway is already at 95% completion, just as he added that there are various ongoing projects at the Aminu Kano Teaching Hospital including the Cardiovascular Centre, Pediatric Centre and Students’ Hostel that are part of the Constituency projects of the Deputy Senate President, Senator Jubril Barau.
“The team also inspected the N27billion 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 the Bayero University, Kano aimed at developing and scaling modern agricultural solutions.
“There is also another ecological fund project worth N47 billion in Wujuwuju – Jakara area, which was initially a Kano State Government project, an erosion galley control project, but taken over for construction by the Tinubu administration”.
He further revealed that there are ongoing projects in Jigawa, Katsina , Kebbi and Sokoto where the Sokoto-Badagry Super Highway covering Phases 2A and 2B and stretching from Kilometer 120 to Kilometre 385 is progressing according to schedule.
