By Sandra Kenneth
The Minority Leader of the Sokoto State House of Assembly, Hon. Abubakar Magaji, has mounted a sharp rebuke of President Bola Tinubu’s administration, scoring the Federal Government low on infrastructure delivery and security over the last three years.
Speaking with journalists on Tuesday in Sokoto, the lawmaker—who represents Bodinga North Constituency under the African Democratic Congress (ADC)—expressed dismay over the economic and security conditions across the region.
“As far as I am concerned, as a serving legislator, if we are talking about progress in terms of leadership in our country, I can say without any fear of contradiction that I have not seen any progress under the Tinubu administration,” Magaji stated.
Addressing the infrastructural deficit in the North, Magaji argued that signature projects like the proposed Trans-Sahara highway—designed to connect Illela in Sokoto State to Badagry in Lagos—remain insufficient considering the vast resources available to the central government.
The state legislator painted a grim picture of the security situation in Sokoto, revealing that 21 out of the state’s 23 Local Government Areas are currently exposed to severe security threats. According to him, only Sokoto North and Sokoto South LGAs remain relatively secure.
“What is happening now in Sokoto State is terrible. Out of the 23 Local Government Areas, only two are not vulnerable to security threats,” he lamented, noting that the escalating violence has driven thousands of residents from their ancestral homes.
Highlighting the human cost of the crisis, Magaji revealed that he is presently sheltering more than 20 internally displaced persons (IDPs) in his four-bedroom home.
Comparing current security challenges to previous years, the lawmaker recalled that only seven local councils were considered vulnerable under the administration of former President Muhammadu Buhari, warning that the state’s security landscape has degraded significantly. He called on the Federal Government to take urgent, decisive action to restore stability and accelerate development across affected communities.
