2027: Tinubu Courts North With Infrastructure, Trade Agenda, Says Region Is Next Business Hub
2027: Tinubu Courts North With Infrastructure, Trade Agenda, Says Region Is Next Business Hub
By Akin Alade
As political calculations ahead of the 2027 presidential election intensify, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has placed Northern Nigeria at the centre of his administration’s economic and infrastructure narrative, declaring that the region stands to become one of the biggest beneficiaries of reforms designed to reposition Nigeria for investment, trade and sustainable growth.
Rather than viewing the North merely through the prism of electoral numbers, the President is presenting the region as a potentially powerful economic gateway capable of driving Nigeria’s commercial relationship with neighbouring African countries.
Tinubu, represented by the National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Professor Nentawe Yilwatda, made the case at the second edition of the Policy Roundtable organised by the APC Professionals Forum in Abuja.
The President argued that ongoing road, rail, gas and economic reforms could transform the North into what he described as Nigeria’s “next business destination,” particularly because of its proximity to Niger, Chad, Burkina Faso, Cameroon and other African markets.
Tinubu Makes Economic Case for the North
At the heart of Tinubu’s argument is the belief that improved transportation infrastructure and regional connectivity could unlock the enormous economic potential of Northern Nigeria.
The administration pointed to strategic projects including the Sokoto-Badagry Super Highway, Abuja-Kaduna-Kano corridor and other proposed transportation networks expected to improve the movement of agricultural products, manufactured goods and people.
The Federal Government has previously said that the North accounts for about 52 per cent of the total length of its major legacy road projects.
It has also cited significant federal investments in projects across the region, including the Sokoto-Gusau-Funtua-Zaria Road, Abuja-Kaduna-Kano Road, Kano-Maradi rail project, Kaduna Power Plant and the Ajaokuta-Kaduna-Kano gas pipeline.
For the Tinubu administration, these investments form part of a wider attempt to reposition the North from predominantly domestic commercial activities towards a regional trade hub capable of connecting Nigeria with markets across West and Central Africa.
Subsidy Removal Takes Centre Stage Ahead of 2027
Tinubu’s latest declaration also comes amid an intensifying political debate over the removal of petrol subsidy.
Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has advocated the restoration of subsidy, while the APC insists returning to the old arrangement could reverse some of the fiscal gains recorded since 2023.
The Federal Government recently reported that subsidy reforms mobilised about ₦15.8 trillion for the federation between June 2023 and December 2025.
Tinubu’s camp argues that resources previously consumed by the subsidy regime are now providing governments with greater capacity to invest in infrastructure, education, security and other critical sectors.
The administration has also pointed to improvements in several macroeconomic indicators to defend its economic direction.
At the Abuja roundtable, Yilwatda said Nigeria’s external reserves had risen to about $52.7 billion by August 2026, while real GDP expanded by 4.43 per cent in the second quarter of the year.
North Could Become Major Battleground in 2027
Beyond economics, however, Tinubu’s declaration carries significant political weight.
Northern Nigeria remains crucial to any serious presidential ambition because of its population, geographical spread and electoral strength.
With opposition figures already intensifying campaigns ahead of 2027, Tinubu and the APC appear determined to convince Northern voters that the administration’s difficult economic decisions are beginning to produce investments capable of delivering longer-term benefits.
The argument could become an important part of the President’s re-election message: that subsidy removal and other reforms should ultimately be judged not only by their immediate pains but also by the infrastructure, investment and economic opportunities they create.
ACF, Middle Belt Leaders Challenge Tinubu
But the President’s assessment has not gone unchallenged.
The Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF) disputed the claim that the North is the biggest beneficiary of the reforms, pointing instead to poverty, insecurity and economic difficulties still confronting millions of residents.
The Middle Belt Forum also questioned the government’s position.
Their reaction underscores the political challenge confronting the administration: major infrastructure announcements and improving macroeconomic indicators will ultimately have to translate into improvements ordinary citizens can feel in their daily lives.
Questions surrounding food prices, employment, insecurity and household purchasing power could therefore remain important issues as Nigerians assess the government’s performance ahead of 2027.
Northern Christians See Progress
However, not all Northern voices agree with the criticism.
Chairman of the Northern Christian Association, Rev. John Hayab, acknowledged that serious challenges remain but argued that it would be unfair to suggest that the region has received no meaningful benefits under Tinubu.
He pointed to major road projects across Northern Nigeria and argued that the current administration is making progress on some infrastructure that had remained problematic under previous governments.
This divergence of opinion demonstrates that the battle for Northern political support ahead of 2027 could increasingly revolve around one fundamental question: Are Tinubu’s reforms producing enough visible benefits to justify the economic sacrifices Nigerians have endured?
From Political Stronghold to Economic Gateway
Tinubu’s latest message suggests that his administration wants to change the conversation about Northern Nigeria.
Instead of discussing the region mainly as an electoral stronghold, the President is projecting it as a strategic economic gateway whose agricultural potential, population, land resources and proximity to neighbouring countries could make it indispensable to Nigeria’s ambition of building a $1 trillion economy by 2030.
If the highways, gas infrastructure, rail networks and cross-border trade corridors deliver their projected economic impact, the North could indeed experience significant commercial expansion.
But between government projections and citizens’ everyday realities lies the crucial test.
As the 2027 election approaches, Tinubu will have to convince Northern voters that the painful reforms of the past three years are not merely producing impressive statistics in Abuja, but are creating roads, businesses, jobs, security and improved livelihoods in their communities.
That could make the North not only one of the biggest beneficiaries of Tinubu’s economic agenda, as the President maintains, but also one of the most decisive battlegrounds in his quest for another four years in Aso Rock.
