The Labour Party (LP) has said it is appalled by the hollowness of the New Year speech by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
According to the party, if anything, the speech conveyed to Nigerians the high level of hypocrisy, deceit, and lack of empathy that has become the guiding principle of the All Progressives Congress, APC.
LP said it is depressing to note that the President and his handlers did not deem it fit to include a word of comfort for the families of over 200 people killed by terrorists during the Christmas Eve massacre in Plateau State.
A statement signed by Obiora Ifoh, National Publicity Secretary of LP, states: “The President’s helplessness in the face of his glaring failure to address the critical issues of insecurity, decayed infrastructure, collapse of the manufacturing and productive sectors, inflation, and the naira to the dollar exchange rate, which is spiralling out of control, is written all over the speech.
“There was no word about the alleged massive looting of the nation’s resources by appointees and party leaders in various sectors. Most disturbing for us is the President’s false claim that ‘everything I have done in office, every decision I have taken and every trip I have undertaken outside the shores of our land since I assumed office on 29 May 2023, has been done in the best interest of our country.’ What a despicable form of deceit!
“How does his ill-advised decision on fuel subsidy removal without a plan to ameliorate the suffering of Nigerians translate into an action taken in the national interest? Of what benefit were the millions of the nation’s dwindling foreign reserves frittered away under the guise of attending the climate change summit in Dubai to Nigerians?
“How do we begin to repair the damage being done to our democratic institutions, such as the judiciary, the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, among others, by the APC administration?
“While we call for prayers for our nation at this critical point in our history, we will continue to call on the National Assembly to look beyond party lines and ensure that the spirit and the letter of our Constitution is upheld at all times.”