The Peoples Democratic Party, on Wednesday, said President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s two-year performance in office has brought deep suffering and major setbacks to Nigerians. The opposition party shared its views in a statement issued in Abuja by its National Publicity Secretary, Debo Ologunagba, as it reviewed the president’s time in office since May 2023.
According to the PDP, the last two years have been nothing short of a disaster for many Nigerians. The party said citizens have faced intense hardship under Tinubu’s leadership and the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), claiming that everyday life has become extremely difficult for ordinary people.
The PDP called on the president to urgently fix the worsening insecurity in the country. They also urged him to rethink economic decisions that have led to rising prices and unemployment.
“As a Party, we restate our position that any government that cares for the wellbeing of the people and has an idea of macro-economic policy management would have reckoned that an abrupt increase in petrol price and devaluation of the Naira as executed by the Tinubu administration would cripple the productive sector, inflame high costs, crash millions of businesses, trigger mass job loss, escalate poverty, hunger, hardship, insecurity and hopelessness across the country.”
The statement pointed out that under the previous PDP government, the Naira exchanged at N167 to the US Dollar and petrol sold at N87 per liter. Now, the Naira has dropped to over N1,600 per dollar, and petrol costs more than N1,000 per liter. These changes, it said, have created widespread poverty and hopelessness, especially among young people. They noted that the country is now facing around 40% inflation and over 42% youth unemployment.
The PDP also raised alarm about rising insecurity, stating that over 600,000 Nigerians have lost their lives to terrorism and bandit attacks since Tinubu took office. They accused the APC government of doing little to stop the violence and protect the people.
Businesses are also feeling the pressure. The party noted that many multinational companies are leaving Nigeria for nearby countries with better economic and security conditions. Meanwhile, the government, they said, has focused on foreign borrowing, raising the country’s debt to nearly N183 trillion. The PDP questioned why such huge loans have not led to real improvements in infrastructure or social programs.
The party further claimed that the current administration is more interested in luxury than in solving the nation’s problems. They accused the government of wasting money on private jets, yachts, overseas trips, and expensive homes while the average Nigerian is struggling to afford food.
Calling on Tinubu to take urgent steps, the PDP said he should stop ignoring the cries of Nigerians. It urged him to reverse harmful policies, bring down the cost of living, and invite competent hands to help manage the economy.
The opposition party also asked the president to spend the remaining two years of his term fixing the country, not spreading false claims of success. “More troubling is that from May 2023 when President Tinubu took office, more than 600,000 Nigerians have been killed by terrorists and bandits who are emboldened by the APC administration’s apparent negligence and failure to ensure the safety and security of the nation and her citizens,” the statement said.
