President Bola Tinubu has listed ongoing projects and reforms in education, road construction, power and rail transportation as major achievements of his administration.
Tinubu listed the projects on Saturday in Kaduna at the third memorial conference for the late General Hassan Usman Katsina, where he also assured Nigerians that insecurity in the North and other parts of the country would soon be brought under control.
The President was represented at the event by his Special Adviser on Political Matters, Ibrahim Masari.
“While we continue to work day and night to secure our nation, by the grace of Allah, the challenges of insecurity confronting us, particularly in Northern Nigeria, will soon be behind us,” Tinubu said.
He also reaffirmed his administration’s commitment to preserving the legacies of Nigeria’s past heroes.
“As your President and Commander-in-Chief, I reaffirm this administration’s commitment to safeguarding the legacies of our past heroes. Their labour must never be in vain,” he said.
On education, Tinubu said more than one million students had benefited from the Nigerian Education Loan Fund.
“We are expanding access to higher education through the Nigerian Education Loan Fund to ensure that no Nigerian student is denied the opportunity to pursue education due to financial constraints. Over one million students have so far benefited from this intervention,” he said.
The President said tertiary institutions had been removed from the Integrated Payroll and Personnel Information System to strengthen their autonomy.
He also said the government had reversed deductions from the internally generated revenues of tertiary institutions.
“Today, by the grace of Allah, our universities have enjoyed sustained academic peace, with no prolonged ASUU strike under this administration,” he said.
Tinubu said the Federal Government, through the Tertiary Education Trust Fund, had commissioned science complexes, classrooms, hostels and research centres in Nasarawa, Kaduna, Jigawa and Bauchi states.
“Because when you build a classroom, you build a generation,” he said.
He added that the government had approved a new national curriculum, introduced teacher training programmes and increased investment in technical and vocational education.
The President also said new federal institutions, including universities, had been established in Kaduna, Ekiti, Ogun, Rivers and Katsina states, as well as several polytechnics across the country.
On road infrastructure, Tinubu said the Federal Government was reconstructing the Abuja-Kaduna-Zaria-Kano Expressway, which he described as a major commercial corridor in Northern Nigeria.
He also listed the Sokoto-Badagry Super Highway, the Sokoto-Zamfara-Kaduna Road and the 434-kilometre Akwanga-Jos-Bauchi-Gombe Road among major projects being executed by his administration.
On power, Tinubu said the government was building the Kaduna Power Station and implementing the 40-megawatt Kumbotso High Voltage Power Project.
He said more than 1,500 solar-powered streetlights and 50 mini-grids were also being installed in communities.
The President said the government was revitalising the 215-megawatt Kaduna Power Plant to support industrial activities in Kakuri and help revive the state’s textile industry.
He also announced the upgrade of the College of Petroleum and Energy Studies, Kaduna, to a full-fledged university to be named after General Hassan Usman Katsina.
According to him, the institution is more than 90 per cent completed, with academic activities already underway.
Tinubu further said the government was developing the 1,350-megawatt Gwagwalada Independent Power Plant, a combined-cycle gas project expected to improve electricity supply in Northern Nigeria and the Federal Capital Territory.
On rail transportation, the President said work was progressing on the Kaduna-Kano Rail Line and the Kano-Maradi Rail Project.
“Upon completion, these projects will unlock enormous economic opportunities for our growing population,” he said.
He added that funding had been committed to the Kaduna and Kano Light Rail projects, while the rehabilitation of the Abuja Metro Rail was ongoing.
Tinubu also said the Abuja-Kaduna train service would be upgraded to improve the movement of people and goods.
Speaking on the late General Hassan Usman Katsina, the President described him as a symbol of public service, patriotism and national unity.
“General Hassan Usman Katsina embodied the finest virtues of public service—humility, courage, discipline and an unwavering love for Nigeria. He was a worthy son of the North and of our great nation,” he said.
Katsina served as military governor of the defunct Northern Region and later as Chief of Army Staff during the Nigerian Civil War.
Tinubu said the late military officer’s commitment to Nigeria’s unity contributed to the foundation of the democracy and freedoms enjoyed by Nigerians.
“His uncommon commitment to the unity of this country laid part of the foundation for the democracy and freedoms we enjoy today,” he said.
