PDP slams Tinubu’s New Year message as a ‘bundle of lies’

President Bola Tinubu’s New Year message to Nigerians was a “bundle of lies, false claims and empty promises”, according to the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

On Monday, Tinubu made a New Year broadcast, in which he pledged to introduce a new living wage for workers and speed up power projects.

The president also warned his ministers and other appointees that they would have to perform excellently to retain their jobs, saying that he had set criteria to assess the performance of cabinet members.

However, the PDP spokesperson, Debo Ologunagba, issued a statement, in which he criticised Tinubu’s speech as “unpresidential, uninspiring and a waste of valuable time as it did not tackle any of the critical issues facing the nation”.

Ologunagba said Nigerians were “disappointed” as Tinubu “used rhetoric and failed to address the critical issues of insecurity, dilapidated infrastructure, dormant” manufacturing and productive sectors; inflation rate, naira devaluation, unemployment and poverty” in the country.

“It is more disturbing that President Tinubu had nothing to say in his New Year address about the Christmas Eve genocidal killing of over 200 Nigerians by terrorists in Plateau State and the slaughter of over 5000 citizens in Plateau and other States of the federation under his watch since May 29, 2023,” the statement reads.

Ologunagba said the president’s address was an “unforgivable insult to the sensibility of Nigerians”, alleging that his foreign trips have not brought any benefits to the citizens.

He said Tinubu should have used the chance of the New Year message to “apologise to Nigerians and outline steps to address our national challenges, including those responsible for the departure of multinational manufacturing companies and other businesses from our country”.

“What Nigerians expect of President Tinubu is to give a detailed account of our nation’s earnings, including the proceeds from the removal of subsidy on petroleum products, especially in the light of allegations that the earnings are being siphoned to private pockets,” Ologunagba added.

The opposition party spokesperson urged the national assembly to “step up” and perform its oversight functions by holding the executive arm accountable for its actions.