The National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress, Nentawe Yilwatda, has said President Bola Ahmed Tinubu is implementing a comprehensive economic masterplan aimed at transforming Kano into Northern Nigeria’s leading commercial centre and a major gateway for trade across West Africa.
Yilwatda, who spoke in Abuja over the weekend, said the Federal Government’s infrastructure and industrial investments in Kano and the wider northern corridor are part of a deliberate and coordinated strategy to reposition the state as a regional hub for commerce, manufacturing, logistics and transnational trade.
In a statement signed by his Special Adviser on Media and Communications Strategy, Abimbola Tooki, the APC chairman said the Tinubu administration recognises Kano as the “natural commercial nerve centre” of Northern Nigeria and a strategic link between Nigeria and the West African hinterland.
According to him, the administration’s vision is to make Kano Nigeria’s largest industrial and business hub after Lagos, while establishing it as a principal gateway for trade into the Sahel and Francophone West Africa.
Yilwatda listed several key infrastructure projects driving the transformation, including the Kaduna–Kano standard gauge railway, which is expected to connect Kano to Abuja and southern parts of the country, significantly reducing the cost and time of transporting goods and passengers.
He also highlighted the Kano–Maradi rail project, designed to link Kano with Niger Republic and expand trade routes into the Sahel region, with completion targeted between 2026 and 2027.
Other projects include the proposed Kano Metropolitan Rail Service aimed at improving urban mobility, and the AKK Gas Pipeline, which is expected to supply industrial gas to power factories, fertiliser plants and electricity generation across the region.
The APC chairman added that ongoing investments in power infrastructure and the rehabilitation of major road networks, particularly the Abuja–Kaduna–Zaria–Kano corridor, would further enhance connectivity and boost economic activities. He noted that the Sokoto–Badagry Super Highway would also open new trade routes linking northern agricultural zones to southern export markets.
Yilwatda said the administration’s focus on Kano is driven by its status as the largest commercial ecosystem in Northern Nigeria and its strategic location as a gateway to neighbouring countries such as Niger and Chad.
He argued that revitalising Kano’s traditional strengths in textiles, leatherworks and agro-processing would play a critical role in the industrial revival of the North, while also reducing Nigeria’s overdependence on Lagos as the country’s primary commercial hub.
The APC chairman maintained that expanding economic opportunities in Kano and the wider northern region would help tackle poverty, unemployment and insecurity, thereby promoting national stability.
He described the current infrastructure push as unprecedented, noting that no previous administration had undertaken such an integrated development plan for Northern Nigeria.
Yilwatda also criticised opposition parties, accusing them of focusing on political attacks rather than offering constructive alternatives for national development.
He expressed confidence that the Tinubu administration’s strategy would reshape the economic future of Northern Nigeria and restore Kano’s historical prominence as a leading commercial city.
Yilwatda, who spoke in Abuja over the weekend, said the Federal Government’s infrastructure and industrial investments in Kano and the wider northern corridor are part of a deliberate and coordinated strategy to reposition the state as a regional hub for commerce, manufacturing, logistics and transnational trade.
In a statement signed by his Special Adviser on Media and Communications Strategy, Abimbola Tooki, the APC chairman said the Tinubu administration recognises Kano as the “natural commercial nerve centre” of Northern Nigeria and a strategic link between Nigeria and the West African hinterland.
According to him, the administration’s vision is to make Kano Nigeria’s largest industrial and business hub after Lagos, while establishing it as a principal gateway for trade into the Sahel and Francophone West Africa.
Yilwatda listed several key infrastructure projects driving the transformation, including the Kaduna–Kano standard gauge railway, which is expected to connect Kano to Abuja and southern parts of the country, significantly reducing the cost and time of transporting goods and passengers.
He also highlighted the Kano–Maradi rail project, designed to link Kano with Niger Republic and expand trade routes into the Sahel region, with completion targeted between 2026 and 2027.
Other projects include the proposed Kano Metropolitan Rail Service aimed at improving urban mobility, and the AKK Gas Pipeline, which is expected to supply industrial gas to power factories, fertiliser plants and electricity generation across the region.
The APC chairman added that ongoing investments in power infrastructure and the rehabilitation of major road networks, particularly the Abuja–Kaduna–Zaria–Kano corridor, would further enhance connectivity and boost economic activities. He noted that the Sokoto–Badagry Super Highway would also open new trade routes linking northern agricultural zones to southern export markets.
Yilwatda said the administration’s focus on Kano is driven by its status as the largest commercial ecosystem in Northern Nigeria and its strategic location as a gateway to neighbouring countries such as Niger and Chad.
He argued that revitalising Kano’s traditional strengths in textiles, leatherworks and agro-processing would play a critical role in the industrial revival of the North, while also reducing Nigeria’s overdependence on Lagos as the country’s primary commercial hub.
The APC chairman maintained that expanding economic opportunities in Kano and the wider northern region would help tackle poverty, unemployment and insecurity, thereby promoting national stability.
He described the current infrastructure push as unprecedented, noting that no previous administration had undertaken such an integrated development plan for Northern Nigeria.
Yilwatda also criticised opposition parties, accusing them of focusing on political attacks rather than offering constructive alternatives for national development.
He expressed confidence that the Tinubu administration’s strategy would reshape the economic future of Northern Nigeria and restore Kano’s historical prominence as a leading commercial city.
