The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has described President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s Monday media chat as confirmation of the All Progressives Congress (APC)-led government’s insensitivity to the suffering of Nigerians.
Tinubu had in the media chat, said his policies were yielding positive results, stressing that there was no going back on tax reforms and fuel subsidy removal.
The president also said he was not prepared to downsize his cabinet despite the clamour to cut down the cost of governance in the country.
But reacting, the PDP in a statement on Tuesday by its national publicity secretary, Debo Ologunagba, said the president’s comments meant that he and this party, the APC, were disconnected from Nigerians and the challenges facing them.
The PDP said the “Ill-implemented and anti-people policies of the APC” are having serious effects on citizens, adding that President Tinubu should travel by road to see things for himself.
“Also alarming is President Tinubu’s claim that Nigerians can now freely and safely travel by road despite the horrible reality of banditry, kidnapping and armed robbery, as well as the worsened condition of highways across the country under the APC.
“The PDP urges President Tinubu to travel from Abuja to Lagos by road, visit any of our markets or take a walk on the street of any city in Nigeria to properly gauge and appreciate the real situation in the country rather than relying on fabricated statistics being bandied by officials of his government.
“The widespread food stampede in various parts of the country which recently led to the deaths of about 80 Nigerians shows that our nation is indeed in a perilous time under the APC,” the opposition party said.
The APC national publicity secretary, Barrister Felix Morka, couldn’t be reached for comments at press time.