The Lagos State chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has criticised President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s 66th Independence Day address, describing it as a lengthy presentation of economic promises that failed to adequately confront the immediate realities facing millions of Nigerians.

The party said while the President spoke extensively about reforms, economic growth and the prospect of future prosperity, Nigerians were still grappling with the high cost of living, insecurity, unemployment and declining household purchasing power.

This was contained in a statement signed by the Lagos State PDP Publicity Secretary, Prince Dr Christopher Odianarewo, on Thursday.

The party said the central question remained when ordinary Nigerians would begin to feel the promised improvement in their pockets, households and communities.

“The President himself acknowledged in his address that millions of Nigerians are still struggling to afford food, school fees, medical bills and transportation,” the statement said.

According to the PDP, the admission was significant because it exposed the distance between the government’s macroeconomic claims and the everyday experiences of citizens.

The party cited the World Bank’s assessment that although Nigeria’s real Gross Domestic Product grew by 4.2 per cent in the first half of 2026, the growth remained insufficient to generate enough productive jobs or materially reduce poverty.

It said 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.

The PDP said this was the context in which Nigerians should evaluate the administration’s claim that the country had moved from the “age of reform” into an “age of prosperity.”

“Prosperity cannot remain a speech. It must become measurable improvement in the lives of citizens,” it said.

The party said the President spoke about lowering the cost of living through agriculture, transportation, infrastructure, industrialisation and energy, but argued that Nigerians deserved clearer answers on how the policies would be implemented.

It asked the government to provide specific timelines and measurable targets, including the number of jobs expected to be created and when they would be created.

The PDP also demanded to know by how much food and transportation costs were expected to fall and what mechanisms would ensure that the benefits of the government’s policies reached ordinary households rather than remaining concentrated in official statistics.

The party also faulted the President’s reference to the economic inheritance of previous administrations, particularly his description of Nigeria before 2023 through the metaphor of a patient receiving “morphine.”

According to the PDP, after more than three years in office, the administration must accept full responsibility for the outcomes of its own policies rather than continually explaining present hardship through the failures of the past.

It said Nigerians were entitled to judge every administration by what it inherited, what it promised, what it implemented, and what citizens could actually see and feel.

On security, the Lagos PDP described the President’s address as particularly inadequate.

The party said although Tinubu acknowledged insecurity and expressed appreciation to the armed forces and security services, Nigerians needed more than recognition of the problem.

It demanded a clear account of how the government intended to decisively tackle terrorism, banditry, kidnapping, communal violence and other threats to lives and livelihoods.

“A country cannot claim broad-based prosperity while farmers remain afraid to access their farms, businesses remain vulnerable to insecurity and families continue to live with fear,” the party said.

The PDP also referred to the deadly unrest that followed the deaths of detainees in Niger State in September 2026, which prompted investigations and the suspension of senior officials of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps.

It said the development demonstrated why accountability and effective security institutions remained essential.

According to the party, the President’s promise of a prosperous Nigeria required more than economic statistics.

It said prosperity must include safe communities, productive citizens, affordable food, reliable infrastructure, decent employment and institutions that Nigerians could trust.

The PDP also questioned the President’s assertion that Nigeria had “corrected its course” and that the country’s “foundations are strong,” saying such claims must ultimately be tested against measurable outcomes.

It noted that even the World Bank, while acknowledging improved macroeconomic stability, had cautioned that household incomes had not fully recovered and poverty remained high.

“For the Lagos PDP, therefore, the issue is not whether Nigeria should reform. The issue is whether reforms are delivering inclusive and sustainable prosperity to the Nigerian people,” the party said.

It argued that Nigerians did not need another four years defined primarily by promises of what would eventually happen, but deserved a government capable of demonstrating, with transparent evidence, how its policies were improving their quality of life.

The party said the approach to the 2027 general elections would provide Nigerians with the constitutional opportunity to assess the record of the administration, compare competing programmes and determine, through their votes, the direction they wanted the country to take.

“The Nigerian people, not political rhetoric, must have the final word,” the PDP said.