President Bola Tinubu’s claim that Northern Nigeria stands as the biggest beneficiary of his economic reforms has split opinion among northern groups, with the Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF) and Middle Belt Forum (MBF) rejecting the assertion, while the Northern Christian Association credited the administration with tangible progress in the region.
Tinubu, represented by APC National Chairman Prof. Nentawe Yilwatda at a policy roundtable in Abuja themed “Dissecting the Renewed Hope Deliverables and Achievements,” defended the removal of fuel subsidy as a necessary step that freed up resources for productive investment. He pointed to gross external reserves climbing to roughly $52.7 billion by August 2026, non-oil revenue growing from about ₦13.63 trillion in 2023 to ₦16.4 trillion in the first half of 2026, and GDP expanding by 4.43 percent in the second quarter of the year, with inflation easing to about 15.4 percent.
The President tied these gains to a planned five-port maritime and logistics corridor and major road and rail links — including the Lagos-Abuja-Kaduna-Kano corridor and the proposed Sokoto-Badagry and Calabar-Maiduguri highways — which he argued would open the North to cross-border trade with Niger, Chad, Burkina Faso, Cameroon and other neighbours, positioning the region as the next business destination of Nigeria.
He also cited the Ajaokuta-Kaduna-Kano gas pipeline, the Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND), and vocational training and credit schemes as part of efforts to translate macroeconomic gains into everyday prosperity, framing the 2027 election as a choice between consolidating these reforms or reversing them.
APC Professionals Forum BoT Chairman Dr. Isa Yuguda, who led Nigeria’s 2009 Fuel Subsidy Task Force, backed the removal, saying the old regime had been riddled with fraud and leakages that drained resources better spent on education, security and infrastructure. He said over ₦15 trillion had been saved since the policy ended, and warned that the ADC’s promise to restore subsidy — reaffirmed by spokesman Bolaji Abdullahi as non-negotiable — risked reversing the fiscal gains now funding national investment.
But the ACF dismissed Tinubu’s claim as out of touch. Spokesman Prof. Tukur Muhammad Baba said the President appeared to be mistaking Lagos for the North, pointing to a struggling agricultural sector, worsening insecurity, poor infrastructure, high numbers of out-of-school children and what he called skewed federal appointments favouring the South-West. He argued the North remains Nigeria’s poverty capital, calling the claim counter-intuitive at a time when more Northerners are being pushed into hardship.
MBF President Dr. Bitrus Pogu was equally dismissive, arguing that nationwide policies like subsidy removal and the CNG rollout affect all Nigerians equally and can’t be credited to one region. He questioned whether the reforms had improved lives in the North or anywhere else, and argued Nigeria’s crude oil pricing shouldn’t be dictated by international markets.
Northern Christian Association chairman Rev. John Hayab offered a more favourable assessment, crediting the administration with major road projects — including the Akwanga-Maiduguri, Jos-Jalingo and Kaduna-Birnin Gwari-Mokwa-Lagos corridors — and noting the North’s representation at senior levels of government, including the APC chairmanship and the information and defence ministries. He said Tinubu had outperformed the late Muhammadu Buhari on delivery, pointing to the Federal University and Federal Medical Centre in Southern Kaduna as proof of visible progress, even as he acknowledged insecurity, hunger and poverty remain serious problems.
The disagreement comes as the ADC doubles down on its pledge to restore fuel subsidy if elected in 2027, a position Abdullahi said could complicate opposition unity talks, given that figures like Peter Obi have not endorsed the policy’s return.
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