Former Deputy Governor of Kano State, Dr Hafiz Abubakar, has said the North deserves to enjoy democratic dividends for voting President Bola Tinubu into office in the 2023 elections.
He explained that claims of marginalisation by Northern leaders are rooted in basic democratic expectations, noting that voters who help a government win elections naturally expect to see clear benefits from their support.
“What we see in the North is that, actually, the North voted to make the president of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. And in a democracy, you expect a dividend of your vote.
“The Northern part of this country gave the president the votes that made him president. I think that is a fundamental issue that should be addressed, and we are operating a democracy,” he said.
Making these comments during an interview with ARISE NEWS on Thursday, Abubakar said dissatisfaction in the region stems from perceptions that those who voted against the president are receiving greater attention.
“Whoever gives his vote expects a reward. And what I believe our people are saying is that they have not seen that reward. Others who voted even against the president now receive better attention than the ones that gave him the vote,” he said.
He said the sense of marginalisation would shape political decisions ahead of the next election, as voters would begin to question whether supporting the same leaders again would bring real benefits based on their experience from 2023 to 2027.
However, despite these concerns, he remained hopeful that the situation could be corrected, noting that there would be new political alliances and efforts to engage the president and his team, whom he described as practical politicians capable of responding to the grievances.
On the controversial Nigeria–France tax memorandum of understanding and proposed tax reforms expected to take effect in 2026, Abubakar urged caution, saying the need for reforms should be carefully managed to avoid worsening poverty and inequality.
“I want to be very honest with you that I have not read the new tax law in depth to give an informed analysis. But what I can say is that we need to appreciate efforts to reform and improve. We need to generate more revenue and address our developmental challenges, and tax reforms are part of that,” he said.
He also cautioned that any reforms should not bring sudden hardship on the people, saying changes must be gradual in a way the public and the system can cope with, given the country’s high levels of poverty and inequality.
Furthermore, he linked public distrust of foreign involvement in taxation to past experiences but also declined speculations on concerns about data breaches.
“If the memorandum of understanding is about improving our capacity, learning better systems of collection, management and accountability, people will not worry.
“But the moment people think foreign countries will be directly involved in collection and management, suspicion becomes extreme,”he stated.
NewsNGR reports that The Federal Government signed a cooperation agreement with France on 10th December, 2025 to accelerate the digital transformation of Nigeria’s tax administration, boost cross-border enforcement, and strengthen institutional capacity.
The pact, signed by the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) and France’s Direction Générale des Finances Publiques (DGFIP), comes just weeks before FIRS transitions into the Nigeria Revenue Service (NRS) in January 2026.
Turning to security and education, Abubakar commended the Kano State Government’s declaration of a state of emergency in education, describing it as a necessary intervention.
“I want to commend the Kano State governor for declaring an emergency on education and for allocating the largest share of the budget to the education sector.
“We need to substantially improve infrastructure, teacher quality and numbers, as well as learning materials,” he said.
He stressed that Kano’s large population of out-of-school children was not merely a state problem but a national problem because Kano is a recipient of an international order.
According to him, coordinated national and international interventions are required to complement state efforts in education and immigration management.
On insecurity, he suggested that addressing it requires institutional coherence rather than constant leadership changes, although he did not elaborate further due to time constraints.
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