THE Peoples Democratic Party – PDP, has described the 63rd Independence Day Address by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu as empty.
The opposition party in a statement also said that Tinubu’s speech lacked ideas and was merely aspirational, considering the distressing experiences being encountered by Nigerians under the president’s administrations.
“Our Party holds that the manifest non-preparedness and hasty implementation of ill-planned policies by the current APC administration triggered a catastrophic economic failure with unprecedented crippling effect on the productive sector and agonising hardship on Nigerians,’’ the party said in by its National Publicity Secretary, Hon. Debo Ologunagba on Sunday.
“The ill-planned policies led to the closure and mass exodus of many multinational companies from our country, disabled millions of Small and Medium Enterprises and resulted in massive loss of jobs across the country.
PDP said President Tinubu admitted in his speech that his administration is responsible for the current excruciating hardship in the country, adding that the admission validates its position that he lacks the competence, capacity, required skills and humaneness to effectively run the affairs of the nation.
Debo, in an apparent response to President Tinubu’s speech, noted that the people expected a speech that will provide concrete solutions to critical challenges facing the nation in areas of security, electricity and petroleum sectors.
“It is troubling that President Tinubu’s speech also had no clear-cut measures to revamp the critical sectors of manufacturing, agriculture, food production, transportation, healthcare, education and other pivotal sectors of life in the country.
“The President’s speech articulated no solutions to the fall of the Naira from N187 to the US Dollar under the PDP to over N1000 under his watch; no answers to the alarming over 40% unemployment rate and the fact that Nigerians are now daily fleeing the country in droves.
“Furthermore, it is heartrending that the President’s speech had no words on the mindless killings, maiming, abductions and mass burial of citizens in various parts of the country under his watch. He had no reassuring words on the abduction of students in Zamfara State as well as other victims of such dastardly acts across the country.
“On the much-touted welfare package, the PDP asserts that there is nothing to cheer over such spiteful tokenism where, amidst unbearable costs, President Tinubu announced a miserable N25,000 per month for six months for average low-grade workers, while still being aspirational on his promise of Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) buses.
“It is also certain, from antecedents, that the promised cash transfer programs to an additional 15 million vulnerable households, would be another conduit pipe to divert public funds to corrupt APC leaders.
“Our Party invites Nigerians to note that President Tinubu’s speech has left no one in doubt that the APC administration has no plans, capacity and competence to handle the crucial and urgent task of governance; which is clearly beyond its managerial faculty,” the PDP said.
