By Atoyebi Nike
Former Deputy National Publicity Secretary of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Yekini Nabena, has criticized recent remarks by New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP) leader, Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso, accusing him of attempting to incite the North against the administration of President Bola Tinubu.
In a statement issued Tuesday, Nabena described Kwankwaso’s comments on development bias and poor infrastructure in the North as politically motivated and misleading. He said claims of Southern dominance in project allocation were false and aimed at disrupting the South’s chance to complete its constitutionally deserved eight years in the presidency.
Kwankwaso, a former Kano governor and 2023 presidential candidate, had accused the federal government of concentrating infrastructure and development projects in the South. But the Presidency countered with data showing that more funds had been allocated to northern projects under the Tinubu administration.
Nabena, who hails from Bayelsa State, challenged Kwankwaso to travel through South-South roads and compare infrastructure conditions with those in the North. He questioned why, after the North had held power for eight years, complaints of underdevelopment still persisted.
He accused Kwankwaso of using ethnic and regional sentiments to build political capital, warning that such tactics had become outdated. “The era of playing religious or ethnic cards is far becoming unfashionable,” Nabena said. “Kano votes can no longer be used to intimidate anyone.”
He insisted that the South must finish its eight-year term for the sake of equity and fairness, stressing that voters and political leaders now understand the strategies of those he called “political merchants.”
