•Tinubu
The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has urged President Bola Tinubu not to bother delivering a New Year address unless it provides immediate and concrete steps to reduce the price of fuel, address widespread hunger, and outline clear measures to guarantee the security of lives and property in the country.
In its message to welcome 2025, the main opposition party explained that this position stems from the fact that previous addresses by the president over the past 18 months have focused solely on “hopeless rhetoric, unsubstantiated statistics, false promises, conjured performance claims, and validation of flawed elections, without concrete mechanisms to address insecurity, resuscitate the economy, create jobs, ensure credible elections, and guarantee better living standards for Nigerians.”
The message, signed by Debo Ologunagba, the National Publicity Secretary, stated that President Tinubu must address issues of alleged unbridled corruption, deceit, budget padding, reckless and wasteful spending directed towards funding the luxurious lifestyles of APC leaders, insensitivity to citizens’ suffering, and a total disregard for the obligations of government, which have made life unbearable for Nigerians under his administration.
The PDP also challenged President Tinubu to use the address to account for the billions of naira officially reported to have accrued from the removal of the subsidy on petroleum products, reports Nigerian Tribune.
It added: “Furthermore, Mr. President should come clean on his public commitment to fight corruption by ordering an investigation and recovery of the over N25 trillion reportedly stolen by APC leaders and officials in government, who have turned government agencies into Automated Teller Machines (ATMs) to siphon funds for their benefit, while other Nigerians wallow in abject poverty, hunger, and starvation.
“Equally worrisome is the failure of the APC government to revisit and address the reported cases of alleged state-backed killings in various parts of the country, particularly the 2020 EndSARS killings and the inhuman denial of the massacre of promising Nigerian youths in that tragic and repulsive incident.
“The last 18 months have been the most excruciating period for Nigerians since the Civil War, with citizens now resorting to suicide and desperate attempts to migrate abroad due to the hopeless situation created by the anti-people policies of the suppressive, exploitative, and insensitive APC government, which continues to reject every appeal and suggestion for the review of such policies.
“More disheartening is that while Nigerians suffer from hunger and insecurity, APC leaders and government officials continue to flaunt their luxurious lifestyles in utter disdain for the plight of millions of impoverished citizens.”
The PDP cautioned the APC against carrying such attitudes into 2025, warning that doing so would further test the patience and sensibilities of Nigerians.
However, the party urged Nigerians not to lose hope in the nation but to remain law-abiding and approach 2025 with optimism for a new dawn. It encouraged citizens to defend the nation’s constitutional democracy, uphold the rule of law, and demand transparency and accountability in government while resisting suppression and pervasive violations by the APC.
“This, the PDP believes, is the surest step in the quest by our party and Nigerians to return our country to the path of stability and economic prosperity, which has eluded her since the calamitous emergence of the APC in 2015,” the PDP stated.
