The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Lagos State has criticized President Bola Tinubu’s 66th Independence Day address, saying Nigerians need to see tangible improvements in their living conditions rather than more promises of economic prosperity.
The party said the president’s speech highlighted economic reforms and improved macroeconomic indicators but did not adequately address the immediate challenges facing millions of Nigerians, including rising living costs, insecurity, unemployment, and declining household purchasing power.
Speaking on Thursday, the party’s spokesman, Prince Christopher Odianarewo, said the key question after the president’s address was when Nigerians would begin to experience the benefits of the government’s economic reforms in their homes and communities.
In his Independence Day address, Tinubu said Nigeria had moved from an “age of reform” into an “age of prosperity,” maintaining that his administration had corrected the country’s economic direction and laid the foundation for broad-based prosperity.
The President, however, acknowledged that millions of Nigerians continued to struggle with food costs, school fees, medical bills and transportation expenses.
Reacting to the address, the Lagos PDP said the acknowledgement highlighted the gap between improvements in macroeconomic indicators and the daily experiences of Nigerians.
The party referred to World Bank data showing that Nigeria’s real Gross Domestic Product grew by 4.2 percent in the first half of 2026, but argued that the growth had yet to translate sufficiently into productive employment or significant poverty reduction.
The World Bank estimated that 69.6 per cent of Nigerians were living below the $4.20-a-day lower-middle-income poverty line in 2025, while 50.8 per cent were living in extreme poverty. It also identified job creation, insecurity, and weak real-income growth among the challenges facing the country.
The PDP said the administration’s claim that Nigeria was entering an era of prosperity should be assessed against measurable improvements in citizens’ living conditions.
It called on the Federal Government to provide clear timelines and targets for reducing food and transportation costs, creating jobs and ensuring that the benefits of economic reforms reached ordinary households.
The party said, “Prosperity cannot remain a speech. It must become measurable improvement in the lives of citizens.”
The PDP also criticised what it described as the administration’s continued reference to the economic challenges inherited in 2023.
According to the party, after more than three years in office, the Tinubu administration should take responsibility for the outcomes of its policies while Nigerians assess what the government inherited, what it promised, what it implemented and what citizens can see and feel.
On insecurity, the opposition party said the President’s address did not provide adequate details on measures to tackle terrorism, banditry, kidnapping and communal violence.
It said economic prosperity could not be considered broad-based when farmers were afraid to access their farms, businesses remained exposed to insecurity and families continued to live in fear.
The PDP also called for stronger accountability and institutions capable of earning public confidence.
It said the President’s assertion that Nigeria had “corrected its course” and that the country’s “foundations are strong” should be assessed against measurable outcomes.
The World Bank, while reporting improvements in Nigeria’s macroeconomic stability, has also noted that poverty remains widespread and that growth needs to become faster and more broad-based to accelerate poverty reduction.
The Lagos PDP said its concern was not with economic reform itself but with whether the reforms were delivering inclusive and sustainable prosperity.
“Nigerians do not need another four years defined primarily by promises of what will eventually happen,” the party said, insisting that citizens deserved transparent evidence of how government policies were improving their quality of life.
As the 2027 general elections approach, the party said Nigerians would have the opportunity to assess the administration’s record, compare competing programmes and decide through their votes the direction they want the country to take.
“The Nigerian people, not political rhetoric, must have the final word,” the party said.
