Former Minister of Youth and Sports Development, Solomon Dalung, has criticised President Bola Tinubu’s Independence Day address, describing the speech as “rhetorical, wishful, ambitious, disappointing and empty.”
Dalung made the remarks on Thursday during an interview on Channels Television’s The Morning Brief Monitored by The News Chronicle, shortly after President Tinubu addressed Nigerians to mark the country’s 66th Independence Anniversary.
According to the former minister, the President should have used the occasion to provide Nigerians with a detailed account of the achievements recorded by his administration since assuming office in 2023.
Dalung said the speech should have addressed major challenges confronting Nigerians, including insecurity, agriculture, the economy, unemployment, hunger and poverty.
He also faulted the President for continuing to ask Nigerians to be patient with his administration, arguing that similar explanations had been given since the government assumed office.
President Tinubu, in his Independence Day address, said Nigeria had made significant economic progress under his administration’s reforms. He cited economic growth, declining inflation, rebuilt foreign reserves and increased non-oil exports as indicators of progress.
Tinubu also compared Nigeria’s situation when he assumed office to a cancer patient who needed difficult but necessary treatment, urging Nigerians to remain committed to the reform process.
However, Dalung questioned when Nigerians would begin to experience the benefits of the reforms, arguing that economic growth figures must translate into improved living conditions for ordinary citizens.
He further criticised the speech for what he described as inadequate attention to insecurity and Nigerians held in captivity, particularly in conflict-affected areas.
Dalung, who served under former President Muhammadu Buhari, said the President’s address did not sufficiently connect government policies and economic statistics with the everyday experiences of Nigerians.
