A chieftain of the African Democratic Congress, ADC, Kenneth Okonkwo, has strongly criticised President Bola Tinubu’s New Year address, describing it as misleading and dishonest.
Okonkwo said the president’s message to Nigerians was filled with what he called “white lies” and showed a clear disconnect from the realities faced by citizens across the country.
He argued that the speech failed to reflect the economic hardship many Nigerians are experiencing.
The ADC chieftain made these remarks during a television interview on Friday. He spoke while reacting to the president’s New Year broadcast to the nation.
According to Okonkwo, the Tinubu administration has continued to disappoint Nigerians. He said the government keeps lowering expectations, only to fall below them again.
In his view, the New Year address was another example of poor leadership and weak communication.
He expressed concern over the president’s claim that 2026 would mark the start of a stronger phase of economic growth.
Okonkwo said such a statement suggested that nothing meaningful had been achieved since the government took office.
“Well, the government of Tinubu cannot cease to continue to surprise me. Each time I think they’ve reached the limit of incompetence, they still blow that limit,” he said.
He questioned why a government that has spent nearly three years in office would still be talking about “the beginning” of progress. Okonkwo described the statement as an indirect admission of failure.
“First of all, he said 2026 marks the beginning of a more robust phase of economic growth. I was offended by that phrase, ‘the beginning.’ Almost three years into the regime of a government. Obviously that’s an admission of failure, because he has actually not begun anything,” he added.
Okonkwo also faulted the president’s comments on inflation. He said the figures mentioned in the address did not match everyday experiences of Nigerians.
“You saw how he embarrassed the world by saying that inflation has come down to 15%. Let me state that clearly as a white lie,” he said.
To support his argument, Okonkwo cited personal experiences with rising transportation costs. He pointed to the sharp increase in airfares as evidence that inflation remains high and painful.
“Before Tinubu came in, the highest he could pay of flight ticket from Abuja to Enugu was N57,000. But going to Enugu, I paid N250,000 for a flight ticket, that’s almost more than 500% increase,” he stated.
He accused the president of relying on what he described as questionable statistics while ignoring the real struggles of citizens.
Okonkwo said this approach was embarrassing for the country and frustrating for Nigerians.
“And the President is sitting down in a New Year message, telling Nigerians about the rebased fraudulent inflation figure. It’s embarrassing and very annoying,” he said.
The ADC chieftain also criticised the timing of the president’s remarks. He said making such claims on New Year’s Day sent the wrong message to Nigerians.
“And when we were growing up, we were told not to lie on a New Year’s day. That means we expect that this President and this government is going to lie throughout the year,” he added.