From Ndubuisi Orji, Abuja
African Democratic Congress (ADC) has said the programmes of the President Bola Tinubu’s administration have destabilised millions of Nigerians across the country.
The Interim National Publicity Secretary, Bolaji Abdullahi,at a press briefing, in Abuja, noted that “Renewed Hope” promised by President Tinubu has given way to widespread disillusionment nationwide.
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While saluting Nigerians on the occasion of the country’s 65 years Independence Day celebration, for keeping faith with the Nigerian dream, ADC stated that despite the citizens collective resilience, the country must confront a sobering reality.
The opposition spokesman added that Nigeria, at 65, is confronted by acute economic and security challenges as well as eroding trust in government, claiming that since 1999, no administration has inflicted more hardship on ordinary Nigerians or done more to erode the foundations of national stability, than the present one.
“At 65, our nation is staggering under the failures of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and the All Progressives Congress (APC). We face an acute convergence of crises: economic hardship, spiraling insecurity, and a growing loss of public faith in government.
“The promise of ‘renewed hope’ that Tinubu and his APC campaigned on has given way to widespread disillusionment, as the reforms undertaken by his administration have destabilised tens of millions across the country by compounding inflation, crushing our individual purchasing power, and triggering a wave of social pain that the government has failed to cushion.
“Insecurity remains perhaps the most damning indictment of the APC’s mis-governance. Despite years of propaganda about restoring peace, Nigeria continues to bleed across multiple fronts.
“Boko Haram and ISWAP maintain footholds in the North, banditry and kidnappings terrorize the Northwest, and parts of North central, which was once safe, continues to buckle under the wave of insecurity that has now made its way all the way to our Federal Capital.
“Yet, President Tinubu’s government has yet to articulate or demonstrate a comprehensive security strategy, leaving citizens to fend for themselves amid a fractured, under-resourced, and often predatory security apparatus.
“Worse still, institutional credibility is eroding fast. Many Nigerians view the APC government as elitist, self-preserving, and deeply disconnected from everyday realities. The perceived arrogance and opacity of governance have fueled public anger, protest threats, and strikes across critical sectors-from health to labor to education. Infrastructure decay continues.
“The power grid remains unreliable. The health system falters under pressure.All this amid record youth unemployment and growing urban discontent.”
The statement also alleged that amidst the bleak situation in the country, the government is launching a
“devastating assault” on the country’s national oil assets, through the proposed amendments to the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA), and the planned sale of Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) equity in high-performing joint ventures.
The ADC said the proposed amendment to the PIA is inimical to the interest of the country and called on Nigerians, including the civil society, labour unions, youths and members of the National Assembly to reject any amendment that will serve private or political interests.
“We have carefully examined the proposed amendments to the PIA, and we are convinced that this action form part of a deliberate and calculated effort to hollow out NNPC Limited, dismantle institutional ….checks and balances, and pave the way for the sale of Nigeria’s most valuable national assets to private, politically-connected interests at the expense of 200 million Nigerians They represent not reform, but regression – and they must be rejected.
“There is also the grave issue of energy security. By handing over decisive control of these assets to private interests, the government weakens Nigeria’s ability to stabilize energy supply, respond to global oil shocks, or plan long term energy strategies in the national interest.
“If we sell off our oil assets, we are not just parting with numbers on a balance sheet – we are surrendering the lifeblood of our economy and the backbone of our national sovereignty.
“It would mean that Nigeria, a country that once stood as a giant of energy in Africa, would wake up tomorrow without control over its own resources. It would mean that the revenues which fund our schools, hospitals, roads, and pensions will flow into private pockets while our treasury runs dry.
“It would mean NNPC Limited, stripped of its most profitable holdings, will stagger under debt and obligations it can no longer meet, risking collapse and the loss of thousands of jobs.
“It would mean that our energy security — our ability to stabilize fuel supply, protect against global shocks,.and plan for the future – will be handed to a few private entities whose only loyalty is to profit, not to the Nigerian people.
“Most dangerously of all, it would set an irreversible precedent, turning our common wealth into private property, and leaving future generations of Nigerians with nothing but memories of what was once theirs…
“At 65, Nigeria must not stand for power, profit, or politics. Nigeria must stand for the people,” he stated.
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