Politician and Deputy Director-General of Media and Communications of the African Democratic Congress (ADC) Presidential Campaign Council, Dele Momodu, has criticised President Bola Tinubu’s Independence Day address, arguing that the administration’s economic reforms have worsened the country’s challenges.
Momodu’s comments followed Tinubu’s nationwide broadcast to mark Nigeria’s 66th Independence Anniversary, during which the President defended his administration’s economic policies.
In the address, Tinubu likened Nigeria’s pre-2023 economic situation to that of a sick patient, arguing that previous administrations relied on “morphine” to mask the symptoms of the country’s problems, while his government opted to “excise the cancer” through difficult reforms.
Reacting in a post on his verified X account, Momodu said he was disappointed by the President’s speech, arguing that what should have been a day of celebration had instead become a “day of lamentation.”
He also challenged Tinubu’s medical analogy, saying Nigeria was not in as severe a condition as suggested when the President assumed office.
“My heart bled as you went into the morbid analogy of Nigeria as being a cancer patient that merely survived on painkillers before your arrival as a celebrated surgeon,” Momodu wrote.
He argued that the country was, in his view, at “stage two cancer at worst” when Tinubu took office and accused the administration of worsening the situation to “stage four cancer.”
Momodu also criticised the immediate removal of the petrol subsidy, describing the policy as a “monumental disaster” and arguing that it sent the country into what he called an “instant coma.”
The publisher of Ovation Magazine further questioned the administration’s record, citing rising insecurity and poverty, increased borrowing, alleged government waste and what he described as a lack of sensitivity among politicians.
He also accused the government of prioritising elections over governance and said the administration’s “Renewed Hope” agenda had given way to what he described as “hopelessness and abject despair.”
Momodu said many Nigerians had become disillusioned with the government’s promises and questioned whether citizens would continue to accept what he described as “endless excuses” with less than three months to the next elections.
He acknowledged that four years might not be enough to resolve all of Nigeria’s challenges but argued that citizens should be able to see clearer signs of progress by this stage of the administration.
