Hardship: Media Chat Confirms APC
The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has described Monday’s presidential media chat as further evidence of the All Progressives Congress (APC) administration’s insensitivity to the widespread hardship Nigerians are facing due to the government’s “anti-people policies.”
In a statement by its National Publicity Secretary, Debo Ologunagba, the PDP said President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s comments during the chat exposed the APC’s disconnection from its core responsibility of ensuring citizens’ welfare and security.
“The declaration by President Tinubu that he has no regrets about the sudden removal of fuel subsidy, despite the absence of cushioning measures to alleviate its crippling effects on the productive sector, the cost of living, and associated hardship, underscores the APC’s insensitivity,” Ologunagba stated.
The PDP noted that President Tinubu’s admission that Nigerians are bearing the consequences of the APC government’s failure to secure the nation’s borders to prevent fuel smuggling further highlights the administration’s lack of accountability.
“It is disturbing that while the APC has failed to account for proceeds saved from the subsidy removal, Nigerians are subjected to worsening economic hardship,” the statement read.
The opposition party criticized the president’s claims of economic improvement, citing realities such as the naira’s depreciation to N1,700 per US dollar, inflation at 34.6%, and unemployment at 40% in the last 18 months. It also pointed to the rising cost of living and incidents like the recent food stampede that claimed about 80 lives as evidence of the administration’s failure.
The PDP further faulted Tinubu’s assertion that Nigerians can now travel safely by road, describing it as “far removed from reality,” given the prevalence of banditry, kidnapping, and the deplorable state of the nation’s highways.
Challenging the president to experience the hardship firsthand, the PDP urged Tinubu to “travel by road from Abuja to Lagos, visit local markets, or walk the streets of Nigerian cities to appreciate the real situation rather than relying on doctored statistics.”
The party warned that without substantial investment in critical sectors like agriculture, power, and small businesses, Nigerians would continue to endure worsening economic conditions under the APC administration.
