The Labour Party (LP) has crit­icised the inaugural speech de­livered on Monday by President Bola Tinubu, describing it as a celebration of lies and deceit.

The party also said that Ni­gerians know that they were robbed at the last presidential election, stressing that it is the reason for the absence of “pomp and pageantry usually associat­ed with a major feat like what we had today”.

In a statement following the inauguration of former Presi­dent Muhammadu Buhari’s successor, acting National Pub­licity Secretary of the party, Obiora Ifoh, noted that “the La­bour Party is disappointed with the inaugural speech made by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu today which clearly exposed the shallowness and policy in­congruity that his administra­tion, while it lasts, is hoping to bequeath Nigerians.

“First, the president de­scribed the election that brought him to power as tough but fairly won. He also said that today was the proudest day of his life.

“However, we consider that speech as defective in many ways. The late President Uma­ru Yar’Adua, recall, on the in­auguration of his government did state that the election that brought him to power was flawed and imperfect but he promised that he was going to fix the electoral system.

“But today, Nigerians were aghast with the boldness and glee with which Tinubu de­clared his election as fair.

“We consider this audacity as a slap on the faces of millions of Nigerians who voted their conscience but were robbed by a collective power of state in­stitutions and brute brigandry unleashed on them.

“Nigerians will not forget in a hurry that instruction by the then presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress, APC, Tinubu to ‘grab power and run with it’, a directive that was effected on the February 25 election day.

“What was witnessed today was a celebration of lies and de­ceit, and that explains why the streets are like graveyards with no pomp and pageantry usually associated with a major feat like what we had today.

“Again, Labour Party while campaigning told Nigerians that if given the privilege to pre­side, we will among other things change our economy from con­sumption to production and we provided tangible ways we can achieve that policy.

“But listening to President Tinubu today reading a speech believed to have been penned by his team, it became obvious that we are returning to the 2015 era where we had great expec­tations but without any means achieving them.

“In the last eight years, Nige­rians were constantly fed with the narratives that the previous government of the PDP brought economic and political calamity upon the nation.

“In all those years, the Bu­hari government made little or no effort to improve upon these challenges. Nigeria is again about to be confronted with a similar scenario, if not a worse scenario.

“We are now calling on the highest office in Nigeria, the office of the people, not to allow this government any space to toil with the destiny of this na­tion again.

“APC ruined this nation and we must not allow a worse situ­ation again. We must wake up to our roles of holding accountable those in positions of authority”.