Coalition of Northern Groups (CNG), yesterday, rejected the road contract approvals by the Federal Executive Council (FEC) on November 6, describing the distribution as a “blatant, deliberate and coordinated marginalisation of Northern Nigeria.”
It warned that if the “pattern of regional bias” persists, the consequences would be “far-reaching and unavoidable,” placing responsibility squarely on those undermining national balance.
In a statement by its National Coordinator, Jamilu Aliyu Charanchi, the group stated that its assessment of figures, distributions, and geopolitical allocations reveals a pattern of systemic bias that cannot be dismissed as an oversight.
CNG claimed that Tinubu’s administration approved N1.047 trillion in road contracts.
The coalition alleged that the overwhelming majority of the funds were allocated to Southern Nigeria, particularly the South-West, leaving the North with what it described as “barely measurable crumbs.”
Charanchi claimed: “South-West is N789.82 billion, 75.4 per cent; South-South, N156 billion – 14.9 per cent; North-Central, N43 billion – 4.1 per cent; North-West, N30.23 billion - 2.9 per cent; South-East, N28.47 billion – 2.7 per cent; North-East 0 – 0 per cent. Regional totals: Southern Nigeria combined: N974.29 billion (93 per cent); Northern Nigeria combined: N73.23 billion (seven per cent).
He continued: “This seven per cent allocation to all 19 northern states is not merely an imbalance; it is a calculated act of economic sabotage deliberately designed to deepen regional inequality and suppress northern development. Northern Nigeria hosts the largest landmass; the longest federal road networks; the highest insecurity burden, and the largest population centre.”
CNG accused the FEC of deliberately excluding several major northern highways from the approved contracts. Roads listed as neglected include the Kano–Maiduguri, Abuja–Kaduna–Zaria, Makurdi–Jos, Bauchi–Gombe, Jibia–Sokoto, and Bida–Minna routes, among others.
It warned that no administration can deprive an entire region of development and expect peace, trust, or cooperation.
CNG outlined four key demands: “A full review and rebalancing of the November 6 FEC allocations. A new legal and administrative framework guaranteeing equitable regional distribution of infrastructure funds.
“A state of emergency on long-abandoned northern highways. Full transparency in contract design and justification to halt the emerging infrastructure colonisation of Nigeria by a single region.”
It concluded: “National unity cannot survive on injustice. Peace cannot be built on inequality. Nigeria cannot be stable when one region is excessively favoured while another is systematically strangled.”
