The Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC) has criticised President Bola Tinubu over his renewed promise to construct the Ibom Deep Sea Port in Akwa Ibom State.
This was just as the party recalled that the Federal Government had previously approved the project under former President Muhammadu Buhari in December 2020.
It questioned why Tinubu was announcing another approval without delivering on the earlier commitment.
In a statement issued on Sunday, the NDC National Publicity Secretary, Osa Director, described Tinubu’s latest announcement as another round of empty promises.
The party recalled that the Federal Executive Council, at its meeting on December 16, 2020, approved the implementation of the first phase of the $4.6 billion Ibom Deep Sea Port project, naming Bollore/Power China as the preferred bidder.
It also recalled that Tinubu, during his 2023 presidential campaign rally at the Godswill Akpabio International Stadium in Uyo, had promised to build the port.
At the rally on January 30, 2023, Tinubu reportedly told supporters: “We will do mechanised farming. We will export food from Akwa Ibom. We will build your seaport.”
However, the NDC said the promise remained unfulfilled more than three years after Tinubu made it, despite his renewed commitment during his visit to the state on Friday, November 6, 2026.
“How many times will the APC approve the Ibom Deep Sea Port?” the party queried.
It accused the ruling party of elevating deceit to a campaign strategy, insisting that Akwa Ibom residents had continued to wait for the project despite repeated assurances.
“Obviously, this is another round of cheap promises that will not be kept or honoured. Just as before, so it will be now — empty promises. All talk and no action,” the statement added.
Drawing a comparison with the country’s electricity challenges, the opposition party said Nigerians were still waiting for the APC government to deliver uninterrupted power supply, while Akwa Ibom residents remained hopeful that the deep-sea port would become a reality.
The NDC urged Nigerians to reject the APC in the 2027 general elections, declaring that a new Nigeria was possible under its platform.
Meanwhile, the party’s presidential candidate, Peter Obi, has also challenged Tinubu to account for the resources available to his administration, questioning how the government had utilised funds from fuel subsidy removal, borrowings and increased revenue.
Obi, in a statement issued on Saturday, November 7, titled “Good Day, Mr President: Nigerians Deserve Accountability,” urged the President to explain what his administration had achieved with the resources entrusted to it.
The former Anambra State governor congratulated Tinubu on spending a night in Akwa Ibom, outside Lagos and Abuja, but questioned his reported record of spending more than 260 days outside Nigeria since assuming office.
He urged the President to visit the remaining 33 states, interact with ordinary Nigerians and provide details of how his government had spent the ₦15.8 trillion reportedly saved from fuel subsidy removal, more than $100 billion in borrowings and increased government revenues.
Obi also demanded figures showing the number of Nigerians lifted out of poverty, out-of-school children returned to classrooms and functional primary healthcare centres constructed under the administration.
He further questioned improvements in electricity supply, recalling Tinubu’s earlier promise that Nigerians should not vote for him if he failed to address the country’s power crisis.
“Nigerians deserve answers. They deserve to know what has been done with the resources entrusted to your government,” Obi said.
He added that the Nigeria he hoped to build would be anchored on accountability, transparency and measurable improvements in the lives of citizens rather than government announcements and revenue figures.