…Challenges President to account for subsidy savings, loans

The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), has written off President Bola Tinubu, saying there is no hope for Nigeria under his leadership.

The party said the President and members of his administration are detached from the realities of life of the everyday Nigerian.

The opposition party accused the administration of avoiding accountability on key financial issues, particularly savings from subsidy removal and foreign loans.

It urged the President to give a full account of the trillions of naira allegedly saved in the last two years from subsidy removal,

At a media conference on Thursday in Abuja, the PDP’s National Publicity Secretary, Debo Ologunagba, scoffed at the President’s Independence Day broadcast, describing it as a litany of untruth propagation of false hope.

According to him, majority of the Nigerian people did not bother to listen to the President’s boring and uninspiring broadcast, full of false statistics that are at variance with the reality of the life of Nigerians.

Ologunagba said President Tinubu himself did not believe in the statistics he reeled out about the economy, judging by his language during his broadcast.

He said, “If with the present suffering and high cost of living, the President is saying the economy is working, then there is indeed no hope for Nigeria under Tinubu and the APC.

“President’s Independence Day speech was a boring, uninspiring humdrum, full of false statistics that are at variance with the reality of the life of Nigerians

“The President himself, from his body language, did not even believe the content of the speech he read.

“Majority of Nigerians did not even bother to listen to him because they know that as usual, the speech will be

“The entire broadcast was a litany of untruth and propagation of false hope. His statement that the economy has improved is an affront to the sensibilities of Nigerians, who daily, are confronted with the effects of failed, ill-thought out and ill-implemented macro economy policies.”

The PDP spokesman declared the President’s claim of achievement with the payment of N25, 000 to households as “tokenism of alms-giving” adding, “it shows the level of disdain Tinubu has for Nigerians as if he is a feudal lord.”

Ologunagba described
Independence Day speech as a stock-taking event for any given leader, saying that
Nigerians had expected the President to account for the trillions of Naira his administration claimed to have saved from the removal of subsidies in the last two years.

“Nigerians expected him to provide details of loans collected by his government and the specific projects and policies to which those loans were applied and the results therefrom.

“This demand is necessary given reports ot massive treasury looting, diversion of public funds and direct pillaging under his watch.

“The failure to account for this fund is a confirmation of the allegations of massive looting in his government, otherwise we challenge him to give account,” the party spokesman said.

The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention, NCDC, has reported 11 new confirmed cases of Lassa fever in its latest Situation Report covering Week 37 (September 8–14, 2025).

According to the update, the new cases were recorded in Ondo, Bauchi, Kogi, and Anambra States, showing a slight decline compared to the 13 cases confirmed in the previous week.

The cumulative figures for 2025 now stand at 895 confirmed cases and 166 deaths, representing a case fatality rate (CFR) of 18.5 percent. This is higher than the 16.9 percent CFR reported during the same period in 2024.

So far, 21 states across 106 Local Government Areas (LGAs) have recorded at least one confirmed case.

However, the majority of infections, about 90 per cent, have come from Ondo, Bauchi, Edo, Taraba, and Ebonyi States, underscoring the persistent burden of the disease in those regions.

The report also highlighted that the most affected age group remains 21–30 years, while no new healthcare worker infections were recorded during the reporting week.
Encouragingly, both suspected and confirmed cases show a downward trend compared to the same period last year.

The NCDC, while reaffirming its commitment to combating the outbreak, urged Nigerians to remain vigilant and adopt preventive measures such as avoiding contact with rodents, proper food storage, and seeking early medical attention when symptoms appear.

Labour Party’s presidential candidate in the 2023 elections, Mr. Peter Obi, has called on Nigerians to draw strength from the resilience of the past while demanding accountability from today’s leaders, as the country marks its 65th Independence Anniversary.

In a statement issued on Wednesday, titled “A Great Nigeria is Still Possible,” Obi reflected on the promise of October 1, 1960, when Nigeria emerged from colonial rule to global acclaim as an African power in the making. He recalled that Time Magazine once predicted Nigeria’s rise as a true African superpower, noting that the founding fathers fought for freedom with passion and determination to build a nation of prosperity and pride.

Obi lamented that decades of poor leadership derailed that vision, with the situation worsening under the current administration. “Today, the picture is bleak,” he said, citing Nigeria’s mounting debt of about N175 trillion—nearly 50 percent of GDP—without improvements in the productive sector. He noted that Nigeria has slipped to the fourth-largest economy in Africa, behind South Africa, Egypt, and Algeria, while its democracy is increasingly described as “undemocratic.”

The former Anambra governor criticised what he described as extravagant government spending amidst widespread poverty. He pointed to billions allocated for new jets, yachts, luxury cars, and renovations of official residences, contrasting them with meagre budgets for healthcare, education, and science. “Billions are spent on luxuries that outweigh the combined budgets of teaching hospitals and ministries essential for national growth,” Obi said.

Obi further highlighted the impact of reckless borrowing, crippling insecurity, and widespread corruption, which have deterred investment and deepened hardship. He warned that UNICEF and the World Food Programme project that 33 million Nigerians could face acute hunger in 2025, while over 150 million already lack access to healthcare, education, water, and sanitation.

Despite these challenges, Obi urged Nigerians not to lose hope, stressing that the vision of a great and prosperous Nigeria remains alive. “A society cannot survive on injustice, waste, and misrule. Yet, just as we overcame colonialism and dictatorship, so too can we overcome today’s failures. A great Nigeria is still possible—one built on justice, fairness, productivity, and the dignity of its citizens,” he concluded.