Nigeria @ 65: Opposition leaders, others take Tinubu to task

By Dayo Johnson, Clifford Ndujihe, Sam Oyadongha, Omeiza Ajayi, John Alechenu, Peter Duru, Rotimi Ojomoyela, Luminous Jannamike & Steve Oko

LAGOS — Opposition leaders and immoderate spiritual leaders yesterday took connected President Bola Tinubu implicit his 65th independency day code that nether his watch, the state has turned the country and the worst is over.

Justifying his hard reforms and highlighting achievements successful assorted sectors of the economy, President Tinubu urged Nigerians to rally down his administration’s policies, arsenic the state is “racing against time” to close decades of neglect.

Tinubu’s broadcast elicited knocks from erstwhile Vice President Atiku Abubakar; statesmanlike campaigner of Labour Party, LP, successful 2023 elections, Mr Peter Obi; and the African Democratic Congress, ADC.

Aside from absorption leaders, specified groups arsenic Christian Association of Nigeria, CAN; Middle-Belt Forum, MBF; Afenifere; and Primate of the Church of Nigeria (Anglican Communion), Most Reverend Henry Ndukuba besides picked holes successful the speech.

Tinubu unmoved, uncaring amid hunger, bandit attacks – Atiku

Reacting to the code yesterday, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, the 2023 statesmanlike campaigner of Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, accused President Tinubu’s medication of failing to code the worsening hunger and insecurity successful Nigeria, describing the authorities arsenic “unmoved and uncaring.”

In a connection posted connected his X platform, Atiku lamented that millions of Nigerians had been reduced to refugees and beggars, contempt the country’s abundant quality and worldly resources.

“It is tragic that successful a state blessed with immense quality and worldly resources, millions of our radical person been reduced to refugees and beggars successful their fatherland. Every liable authorities holds the payment and information of its citizens arsenic supreme.

‘’But what we person contiguous is an medication that has abandoned its people. Hunger is sidesplitting Nigerians, bandits are massacring communities, yet President Tinubu and his furniture basal by, unmoved and uncaring.”

Reflecting connected Nigeria’s existent state, the erstwhile vice president said: “At 65, Nigeria remains a elephantine moving painfully dilatory connected feet of clay, a nonstop effect of decades of mediocre enactment and wasteful governance.”

Nigeria failing nether APC – Obi

On his part, erstwhile Anambra State politician and Labour Party’s statesmanlike campaigner successful 2023 elections, Mr. Peter Obi, lamented that successive enactment failures person frustrated the imaginativeness of the country’s founding fathers.

He expressed regret that this imaginativeness was betrayed by enactment that enriched a fewer and impoverished bulk of the citizens.

According to him, successful the past 10 years, the APC-led Federal Government has diminished gains recorded by the state since instrumentality to civilian ideology successful 1999, and roseate to Africa’s largest economy
Obi said: “By the extremity of 2007, our full indebtedness was astir N2.5 trillion, lone 10 per cent of GDP, aft President Obasanjo’s authorities secured indebtedness forgiveness of implicit $30 billion. By 2014, Nigeria had go Africa’s largest system and was primed to execute middle-income status.

“In 2015, for the archetypal time, a ruling enactment was defeated successful a statesmanlike election, marking different milestone for our democracy.”

He, however, stated that the representation presently is bleak, arsenic the nation’s full indebtedness present stood astatine astir N175 trillion which, helium said, is astir 50 per cent of GDP, without immoderate betterment successful productive sectors.

“Nigeria has fallen to the fourth-largest system successful Africa, down South Africa, Egypt, and Algeria. Our ideology is present described arsenic ‘undemocratic,’” Obi besides took a swipe astatine the Tinubu-led administration’s caller taxes imposed connected Nigerians, the extravagance of the nation’s leaders, the government’s reckless borrowings and increasing insecurity successful the country.

ADC to Tinubu: If the worst is over, wherefore are Nigerians inactive dying?

On its part, the ADC described President Tinubu’s 65th Independence Anniversary code arsenic superb rhetoric that lacked substance, having failed to supply applicable solutions to Nigeria’s pressing challenges.

ADC National Publicity Secretary, Bolaji Abdullahi, said: Tinubu’s declaration that ‘the worst is over’ offered nary clarity connected what Nigerians should expect going forw...