The African Democratic Congress (ADC) has criticised President Bola Ahmed Tinubu for allegedly launching his 2027 re-election campaign while Nigeria remains under a state of emergency.
In a statement on Wednesday, the party’s national publicity secretary, Mallam Bolaji Abdullahi, said the President’s actions undermine the purpose of the emergency declaration and display political opportunism.
The ADC raised concern over the distribution of branded vehicles to campaign agents across the country under the “Renewed Hope Ambassadors” initiative, describing it as inappropriate while kidnapped citizens remain in captivity and security forces struggle to contain banditry.
“By launching his re-election campaign under the guise of ‘Renewed Hope Ambassadors’, Tinubu is acting more like a presidential candidate than a President of a nation under emergency rule,” Abdullahi said.
The party alleged that the President’s action violates the Electoral Act and the timetable set by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
“The ADC is deeply appalled by reports that President Tinubu has distributed fleets of Hilux trucks, Land Cruisers, and Hummer buses to political agents across the country, effectively kick-starting his 2027 re-election bid,” the statement read.
The party argued that ordinary citizens continue to face kidnappings, displacement, and killings while the government focuses on partisan mobilisation.
“A nation under emergency rule is expected to adopt extraordinary conduct that reflects the desperate nature of its condition. What we have seen under President Tinubu is business as usual,” Abdullahi said.
He noted that aside from symbolic gestures, no substantial measures have been taken to address insecurity.
“Lavish convoys and early campaigns are not the answers to national trauma. The President must return to the business of governance or admit that his political ambition now stands in the way of Nigeria’s recovery,” the statement concluded.
