The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has urged President Bola Tinubu to use his New Year’s address to provide immediate solutions to the high cost of fuel, food crisis, and security challenges plaguing the country.
According to Debo Ologunagba, the PDP’s National Publicity Secretary, previous addresses by President Tinubu have been criticized for dwelling on “hopeless rhetoric, unsubstantiated statistics, false promises, conjured performance claims, and validation of flawed elections”.
The PDP noted that President Tinubu’s past broadcasts have failed to address pressing issues, including “unbridled corruption, deceit, budget padding, reckless and wasteful spending” directed towards funding the luxury lifestyles of APC leaders.
The party also challenged President Tinubu to account for billions of Naira reportedly accrued from the removal of fuel subsidies and to investigate the alleged theft of over N25 trillion by APC leaders and officials.
Furthermore, the PDP expressed concern over the APC government’s failure to address reported cases of state-backed killings, particularly the 2020 EndSARS killings.
The party described the last 18 months as “the most excruciating period to Nigerians since the civil war,” with citizens resorting to suicide and slavery due to the government’s anti-people policies.
The PDP then urged Nigerians to remain hopeful and law-abiding, approaching 2025 with “optimism of a new dawn” in their determination to defend the country’s constitutional democracy and demand transparency and accountability from the government.