The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) on Monday slammed President Bola Tinubu over his New Year address, describing it as a “harvest of deceit, false claims and empty promises”.
In his nationwide broadcast to Nigerians on Monday, Tinubu urged the citizens not to falter despite the tough times and difficulties they face.
“Dear Compatriots, take this from me: the time may be rough and tough, however, our spirit must remain unbowed because tough times never last. We are made for this period, never to flinch, never to falter,” President Tinubu said.
Reacting in a statement on Monday, the PDP National Publicity Secretary, Debo Ologunagba, said Tinubu’s speech was “unpresidential, uninspiring and amounts to a waste of valuable time as it did not address any of the critical issues plaguing the nation”.
“More distressing is that President Tinubu had no words in his New Year address for the Christmas Eve genocidal massacre of over 200 Nigerians by terrorists in Plateau State and the murder of over 5000 citizens in Plateau and other States of the federation under his watch since May 29, 2023,” the statement reads.
Noting that Nigerians were “dismayed”, the PDP spokesman said the President “employed rhetoric and failed to address the critical issues of insecurity, decayed infrastructure, comatose” manufacturing and productive sectors; inflation rate, naira depreciation, unemployment and poverty” in the country.
He said Tinubu’s statement that his actions and policies are in the interest of the nation further confirmed that this administration is allegedly subjecting Nigerians to hardship as a way to suppress them to surrender to totalitarianism.
“President Tinubu ought to have used the opportunity presented by the New Year to apologize to Nigerians and marshal out steps to address our national challenges, including those responsible for the exiting of multinational manufacturing companies and other businesses from our country.
“What Nigerians demand of President Tinubu is to provide a comprehensive account of our nation’s earnings including the proceeds from the removal of subsidy on petroleum products, especially in the face of allegations that the earnings are being diverted to private pockets of APC leaders and their cronies.
“The National Assembly is invited to step up and perform its Constitutional role of oversight to hold the Executive Arm accountable as the custodian of the purse of the nation,” Ologunagba said.