The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) says President Bola Tinubu’s Independence Day speech was filled with false claims and lacked solutions to Nigeria’s pressing issues.

In a statement on Tuesday by Debo Ologunagba, PDP’s spokesperson, the opposition party said Tinubu’s address was “another lethargic and windy rhetoric of false performance claims and empty promises ostensibly scripted to delude Nigerians in the face of abysmal failure” by the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC).

The PDP labeled the president’s speech as a “complete waste of time,” saying it failed to address or offer solutions to the numerous economic and security problems plaguing the country.

“President Tinubu has, by this speech, further confirmed the insensitivity of his administration towards the plight and demands of Nigerians, which clearly authenticates PDP’s position that there is no hope in sight under the overtly clueless, insensitive, and unresponsive APC-led government,” the statement reads.

The opposition party criticised Tinubu for not responding to the cries of Nigerians by reviewing what it called “life-suffocating policies,” warning that this failure has pushed the country toward “totalitarianism.”

“It is indeed shocking that Mr. President’s speech practically trivialized the very grave issues of pervasive economic hardship, unemployment, acute poverty, widespread hunger, and starvation in our country,” the PDP said.

“For which Nigerians took to the streets in August this year, by claiming that about 10% of Nigerians have been plunged into hunger when confirmed reports show that over 100 million Nigerians can no longer afford their daily meals and other necessities of life under the APC watch.”

The party also slammed Tinubu’s assurances of economic improvement, lower cost of living, and food sufficiency as “irreconcilable” with the reality on the ground.

“Equally appalling is Mr. President’s irreconcilable assurances of micro-economic improvement, lower cost of living, and food sufficiency, when in reality his administration has failed to lower the price of fuel — the key driver of our nation’s economy — failed to inject resources into the productive sector to boost employment, stem the slide of the Naira, and made no tangible investment in food production in any part of the country,” the statement continued.

The PDP criticised Tinubu for not addressing the reduction of fuel prices, the creation of jobs, or the value of the naira.

The party noted that the government’s “profligacy” and failure to invest in the productive sector showed a disconnect from the concerns of ordinary Nigerians.

“The failure by Mr. President to listen to Nigeria, to reduce the price of fuel, create employment, and lift the value of the Naira by ending the profligacy in his government and directing resources to jumpstart our ailing productive sector, shows that the APC administration is completely disconnected with Nigerians, especially the youths,” the party said.

Additionally, the party raised concerns about the erosion of democracy, noting the silence on issues of credible elections and attacks on citizens’ constitutionally guaranteed rights.

“Moreover, from the speech, it is clear that the APC-led administration is determined to stifle our nation’s democracy; the very fundamental of any independent nation as it is loudly silent on the erosion of credible elections and constant attacks on constitutionally guaranteed rights of citizens in our country under its watch,” the party added.