Abuja – Phrank Shaibu, Special Assistant on Public Communication to former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, has faulted President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s Independence Day broadcast, describing it as a speech filled with “empty promises” and out of touch with the realities faced by ordinary Nigerians.
In a statement issued on Wednesday, Shaibu criticised the President’s address delivered to mark Nigeria’s 65th Independence Anniversary, arguing that the administration’s claims of progress in the economy, infrastructure, and social welfare were far removed from the daily struggles of citizens grappling with inflation, unemployment, and insecurity.
According to him, while Tinubu spoke about reforms, youth empowerment schemes, and disbursement of welfare funds, the lived experience of most Nigerians reflected rising food prices, inadequate power supply, and worsening poverty levels.
“President Tinubu’s broadcast was nothing more than empty rhetoric,” Shaibu said. “Nigerians do not need speeches, they need relief. Families are hungry, businesses are suffocating, and our young people are leaving the country in droves because they see no future here.”
He accused the government of pursuing policies that have worsened hardship, citing the removal of fuel subsidies and exchange rate unification as reforms that triggered inflation and eroded purchasing power without corresponding safety nets.
Shaibu further alleged that despite promises of transparency and efficiency, the Tinubu administration had failed to provide clear accountability on funds claimed to have been disbursed to vulnerable households.
The opposition aide urged the government to prioritise practical measures that directly ease the burden of Nigerians, rather than what he described as “grand declarations designed for optics.”
The Presidency has yet to issue an official response to Shaibu’s criticism, but government officials have consistently maintained that current reforms, though painful in the short term, are necessary to reposition the economy and secure a more prosperous future.
