President Bola Tinubu has set December 3, 2026, for the inauguration of sections of major railway projects in Northern Nigeria, including the Kaduna-Kano Standard Gauge Railway.
The Kaduna-Kano rail project, covering the 203-kilometre Kaduna-Zaria-Kano corridor, has reached approximately 90 per cent completion, while the 400-kilometre Kano-Katsina-Maradi railway project is 70 per cent complete.
According to a statement by Dele Alake, spokesperson for the APC Presidential Campaign Council, the projects had recorded significant progress since Tinubu assumed office in 2023, when the Kaduna-Kano project was below 30 per cent completion and the Kano-Katsina-Maradi project stood at barely five per cent.
The statement said sections of the two projects, including the completed 190-kilometre Jaji-Kano stretch of the Kaduna-Kano railway and the 250-kilometre Dawanu-Kano-Kazaure-Daura-Katsina section of the Kano-Maradi project, are scheduled for inauguration on December 3.
It added that the projects were recently inspected by a Federal Government delegation led by the Permanent Secretary of the Federal Ministry of Transportation, Engr. Funso Adebiyi, on the directive of the President.
During the inspection, which included a train test run from Jaji in Kaduna State to Kano, Adebiyi reportedly expressed satisfaction with the quality of construction, particularly the railway alignment, drainage infrastructure, embankment protection and soil stabilisation.
The statement further disclosed that Tinubu had directed the immediate resolution of outstanding land acquisition and compensation issues within Kaduna metropolis to facilitate the completion of the railway corridor from Abuja to Kano.
