The Peoples Democratic Party on Tuesday, urged President Bola Tinubu to prioritise and take immediate action to address the escalating issues of insecurity, fuel shortages, and the growing food crisis as the country enters the New Year, 2025.
The PDP National Publicity Secretary, Debo Ologunagba, in a statement, accused Tinubu of focusing on empty rhetoric, false promises, and unproven claims over the past 18 months, without taking real action to address insecurity, improve the economy, create jobs, ensure credible elections, or raise living standards for Nigerians.
Ologunagba highlighted the need for swift and active measures to tackle these critical problems, which have had a significant impact on the daily lives of Nigerians.
The statement partly read, “The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) congratulates Nigerians on the dawning of the year 2025 and charges President Bola Ahmed Tinubu not to taint the new year with an address that will not proffer immediate and concrete steps to reduce the price of fuel, address widespread hunger and provide clear-cut measures to guarantee the security of lives and property in the country.
“This position by the PDP is predicated on the fact that previous addresses by Mr. President in the last 18 months dwelt only 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 standard for Nigerians.
“The PDP maintains that President Tinubu must speak to the issues of unbridled corruption, deceit, budget padding, reckless and wasteful spending directed to fund the luxury appetite of APC leaders, insensitivity to the pains of citizens and total disregard to the obligation of government which has made life unbearable for Nigerians under his watch.”
The opposition party also urged Tinubu to use the address to provide an account of the billions of Naira reportedly generated from the removal of the subsidy on petroleum products.
The statement continued, “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 to Automated Teller Machines (ATM) 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 inhuman denial of the massacre of promising Nigerian youths in that sad and repulsive incident.
“The last 18 months have been the most excruciating period to Nigerians since the Civil War with citizens now resorting to suicide and slavery mission aboard due to the hopeless situation foisted by the anti-people policies of the suppressive, exploitative and insensitive APC government which continues to reject every appeal and suggestion for review of such policies.
“More disheartening is that while Nigerians die of hunger and insecurity, APC leaders and officials in government continue to flaunt their luxury appetite and lifestyle in utter disdain to the feelings of millions of impoverished citizens.”
The PDP warned the APC against carrying this attitude into 2025, as it would only intensify the frustration and dissatisfaction of Nigerians.
The party encouraged Nigerians to stay hopeful for the country’s future, remain law-abiding, and approach 2025 with optimism, committed to defending the nation’s Constitutional Democracy, upholding the Rule of Law, and demanding greater transparency and accountability from the government.
