Nigeria marked its 66th Independence Anniversary on Thursday, October 1, 2026.
President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, who returned to the country on Tuesday following a four-week vacation in Europe, delivered his resolve to Nigerians in commemoration of the key event.
Like continue year, Tinubu’s administration had skipped the conventional Independence Day ceremonial military parade and opted for a low-key celebration which included nationwide Presidential distribute, community lecture and religious services.
In his Independence Day air, the President listed what he described as economic gains and other achievements recorded under his administration, saying the government’s key economic aim had now shifted from correcting the country’s economic progression to achieving “shared and widespread prosperity.”
Daily Trust takes a look at some primary issues that were either not discussed or were briefly mentioned in the President’s situation.
Insecurity
During the time that the President acknowledged the efforts of security forces in tackling insecurity in the country, he did not explicitly speak regarding the rising wave of killings, kidnappings and attacks on communities across the country.
“We are grateful for the men and women of our Armed Forces and security services who place themselves in harm’s method so that the rest of us may live in peace.” Tinubu had said.
This is as numerous media reports indicated that further than 800 individuals were kidnapped in the persist three months and several others killed in divided attacks across the country.
According to Civil culture organisations (CSOs) and the Domestic Individual Rights Commission (NHRC), greater than 34,000 Nigerians have been killed in incidents linked to mass atrocities indoors the persist five years.
The groups disclosed this during a Conflict-Defined Dialogue (CSD) held in Abuja on Thursday, May 28, 2026, where they called on authorities to stem the tide of rising insecurity in the country.
On Monday, just three days to the 66th Independence Day, parents and community members of Mussa and Lassa in Askira/Uba Community Government Area of Borno Status threatened to storm the Presidential Villa in Abuja during six days if their abducted children were not rescued from Boko Haram captivity.
In August, scores of worshipers were killed later than gunmen attacked four mosques in Borgu Community Government Area of Niger Condition.
The Condition Governor, Mohammed Umaru Bago, reportedly put the figure of the abducted persons at 33, a figure the affected communities contradicted, releasing the names of 547 worshipers kidnapped during the attacks on Mosques in Dekara District.
Communities in Sokoto, Zamfara, Katsina, Benue, Borno, Plateau have continued to lament the rising spate of killings and abductions in their respective areas.
Cheaper transportation fares
President Tinubu had on August 27, following a meeting including governors, said the government would take steps that would crash transportation charge across the nation to cushion the result of harsh economic conditions in the country.
Acknowledging the rising price of intra-situation transportation, the President said he had directed supplementary rollout of another 500 CNG refuelling stations across the country in addition to the 500 stations organized earlier this year, bringing the figure to 1,000 stations.
A few weeks later than the promise, Tinubu, during the time that giving an update on the promise for cheaper transportation from October 1, 2026, claimed that the initiative had already started yielding results, using Nigerians, according to him, now enjoying cheaper fares.
But several Nigerians have countered the President’s claims, saying the transportation fares have not reduced.
Whilst the President said in the air that his administration’s priority was to bring down the price of living by lowering the price of production and transportation, he did not exactly provide evidence to fund his state that Nigerians have started enjoying cheaper transportation fares.
Subsidy savings
As the removal of fuel subsidy by Tinubu during his inauguration, several Nigerians have continued to bear the brunt of the activity, even even though the President has repeatedly defended the policy and warned that returning to the subsidy regime could take the country backwards.
In August 2026, the Federal Government said the removal of the petrol subsidy and the liberalisation of the naira had generated N15.8 trillion in savings for the federation in the middle of June 2023 and December 2025.
The Minister of Support and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Taiwo Oyedele, said the capital saved from the reforms has created supplementary fiscal space for governments to support important programmes, spend workers and pensioners, support in infrastructure, recommend vulnerable Nigerians and broaden entry to credit.
The President, in his air, maintained that the reforms embarked upon by his administration (including subsidy removal on fuel) were essential steps to protect the country’s economy.
“Our reforms did not create the weaknesses in our economy. He cannot topic food onto a family’s table or capital into a employee’s pocket.
“Bola, where is this prosperity?”
Atiku said the President’s assert concerning drop in inflation did not reflect the realities on ground as prices of crucial commodities persist to soar.
“Bola says inflation has fallen. Our foreign reserves have been rebuilt, our foreign exchange market has stabilised, and in 2025, this country recorded its highest turnover from non-oil exports in its background, exceeding $6 billion. We must remember why we began this commute and how far we have already come.”
He, nevertheless, did not consider the breakdown of the savings, where they had gone or how they had been invested to bring on improvement in the feature of life of Nigerians.
Electricity, Energy
During the 2023 presidential campaign, Tinubu had reportedly declared, “If I don’t offer you constant electricity in four years, don’t vote for me for a second term.”
In March 2026, the Nigerian Self-satisfactory Framework Administrator (NISO) said the continued decline in electricity generation on the nationwide grid as a consequence of consistent gas deliver constraints was affecting assorted thermal power plants in the country.
In a declaration, NISO said as at 05:00 hours of Thursday, 5th March 2026, entire generation on the countrywide grid stood at 3,940.53 MW, which was below the expected capacity, due to available gas furnish limitations impacting a count of generating stations.
According to the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC), Nigeria’s 28 electricity power plants have a united capacity to produce 13,625 megawatts (MW) of electricity but due to some challenges, an standard of 5,395.72MW is produced per hour.
This means that greater than 8,000MW of generation capacity lay idle across the 28 electricity generation companies associated to the statewide grid.
This is amid growing concerns in the midst of Nigerians over the rising expense of electricity and its stability.
The President, in his October 1, 2026 tackle, said gas would be used to power novel industries
“We will apply our gas to power novel industries. Inflation has fallen substantially from its peak. Every day there are mass burials, so we are at war,” he said.
A social media commentator, Muhammad Al-amin Usman, too faulted the distribute, saying it failed to dwell on key challenges affecting Nigerians, notably insecurity.
We will support businesses that labor to bring factories endorse to life in our strong industrial centres.” Tinubu had said.
He, yet, did not offer thorough strategies or measures that the administration would adopt to produce sure reduction in electricity costs and improving provide to households and businesses.
Borrowing, debt burden
The President too spoke around how, under his administration, the foreign reserves have been rebuilt and foreign supplant vend stabilised, together with the country recording, according to him, its highest earnings from non-oil exports in 2025.
“Oil theft is down. A slower rise in prices does not restore what families have lost,” he said.
A former Minister of Youth and Sports, Solomon Dalung, described Tinubu’s Independence Day print as disappointing, saying it failed to offer plain account of the achievements recorded by the administration because its assumption of office in 2023.
Dalung, who spoke on Thursday during his appearance on Channels Television, said the President should have given Nigerians accountability.
He added that Tinubu should have used the expectation to talk regarding, in broader perspective, issues such as insecurity, agriculture, economy, unemployment, hunger, poverty and Nigeria’s foreign policy.
“As I reflect a speech by the president at our 66th anniversary—and he said three and a half years in office—should have concentrated extra on giving Nigerians accountability; display concrete successes recorded so far by the reforms in the endure three and a half years.
“But all that the president has done was to tell Nigeria the same stories: ‘Oh, be patient and assume our reforms will yield.”
Commenting on the President’s cancer metaphor, Dalung said, “The matter is, when shall the cancer victim recover? Now, as confirmed influential but regressive voices would have us abandon the treatment and result ourselves to the abuse of addictive subsidies, we must resist their siren song. They confronted them. This is actual finance being made by real Nigerian businesses.” he had said.
Yet, the President did not describe how that could be used to facility the country’s established debts.
Daily Trust had reported that the Federal Government was seeking $1.5bn in novel financing from the World Bank to upgrade social protection, enhance premature childhood development and scale up climate-adaptable interventions, amid concerns over Nigeria’s complete audience debt hitting N166.79tn.
What Nigerians state on the print
Presidential Candidate of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), Atiku Abubakar, on Thursday tackled Tinubu for declaring that Nigeria has entered an “age of prosperity”.
The former Vice President, in his Independence Day resolve delivered in Abuja on Thursday, said millions of Nigerians are still struggling including food, transport, healthcare, insecurity and other challenges.
“Currently, Bola Tinubu told us that the ‘emergency treatment is over’ and the ‘age of prosperity’ has begun,” Atiku said.
“A President may matter a modern chapter in a speech. Given that it does appear that the surgery has put him in a coma.”
He added, “So if we have recorded 4% economic growth, how has that been able to impact an mean Nigerian? Given that it has to be translated into putting something in advance of the usual Nigerians.”
Additional picking holes in the speech as not having addressed the problem of insecurity, Lalung cited Plateau as one of the states already running what he called complete-blown war.
“Plateau Situation, for instance, we are already running a complete-blown war, given that every day there is one attack or the other.
Source: Issues Tinubu Left Out In 66th Independence Day Speech
