President Bola Tinubu has said Northern Nigeria will be the biggest beneficiary of his economic reforms, pointing to trade with neighbouring countries and new infrastructure corridors.

He argued that once roads, rail and energy links improve, the North will trade more easily with Niger, Chad, Burkina Faso, South Sudan, northern Cameroon and the Central African Republic. “The North is the next business destination of Nigeria,” he said.

Tinubu tied the claim to national numbers: external reserves of about $52.7 billion by August 2026, stronger non-oil revenue, a large merchandise trade surplus in early 2026, real GDP growth of 4.43 per cent in the second quarter and inflation near 15.4 per cent.

He listed projects such as the Lagos–Kano corridor, the Sokoto–Badagry Super Highway and a proposed Calabar–Maiduguri route.

The statement has not landed quietly in the region. Some northern civic groups called it out of step with daily life, saying the North still carries the heaviest burden of poverty, insecurity and high food prices. Others in the region say state allocations have risen since subsidy removal and that the comparison with the last administration is fairer than critics allow.

The gap is between a presidential forecast future trade and big roads and what households feel now. Higher federation receipts for northern states are real in the budget papers. Whether that makes the North the “biggest beneficiary” is a political judgment, not a settled fact.