Opposition parties and Labour Party’s 2023 presidential candidate, Peter Obi, have rebuked President Bola Ahmed Tinubu over the distribution of vehicles to state coordinators of the Renewed Hope Ambassadors (RHA), describing the initiative as an early campaign effort disguised as a public engagement programme.
The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), the African Democratic Congress (ADC), and Obi argued that the development suggested the president was prioritising his 2027 re-election ambition over the demands of governance.
They insisted that, despite the cautious language used to define the RHA’s mandate, the initiative amounted to a covert political structure. The vehicles, they said, were ultimately campaign tools deployed long before the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) permits political activities.
They accused the presidency of showing disregard for citizens’ welfare and violating “a flagrant disregard of the Electoral Act,” which bars campaigning outside INEC’s timetable.
Concerns about premature political mobilisation are not new. Earlier in the year, key organs of the All Progressives Congress (APC) openly endorsed President Tinubu as its 2027 candidate, a move widely criticised as insensitive. Campaign posters bearing Tinubu’s image also appeared across Abuja for months despite official denials and calls for their removal.
The controversy escalated again following the appointment of state and zonal coordinators for the RHA and the distribution of branded vehicles. On November 25, Tinubu named Imo State Governor Hope Uzodimma as Renewed Hope Ambassador, instructing him to focus on “evangelising the Tinubu administration’s programmes.”
“In his role as ambassador, he will double as the Director-General for Party Outreach, Engagement and Mobilisation,” presidential spokesman Bayo Onanuga said.
Uzodimma went on to appoint zonal coordinators, including former governors Dr Ifeanyi Okowa (South-South), Isa Yuguda (North-East), Aminu Masari (North-West), Anyim Pius Anyim (South-East), Oladipupo Oyinbande (South-West), and Umar Tanko Al-Makura (North-Central. The appointments were unveiled during the inauguration of RHA committees nationwide.
Soon after, images circulated online showing the distribution of Toyota Hiace Hummer buses, Land Cruiser SUVs, and Hilux trucks branded with the president’s colours and images. This triggered public criticism and renewed allegations of premature campaigning.
Daily Trust contacted Uzodimma’s office for clarification, but his Information Commissioner, Chief Declan Emelumba, referred inquiries to the presidency. Efforts to reach presidential aides Bayo Onanuga and Daniel Bwala were unsuccessful.
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The APC, however, rejected accusations of early campaigning, insisting the vehicles were unrelated to the 2027 race and that the RHA’s role was purely promotional regarding government programmes.
But the opposition dismissed the explanation. The ADC, in a strongly worded statement, condemned what it described as an attempt to begin a re-election drive during a national security emergency, calling the move “a cynically insensitive action that makes nonsense of the emergency declaration itself.”
Mallam Bolaji Abdullahi, the ADC’s National Publicity Secretary, criticised the administration for distributing “vehicles to campaign agents across the country even as kidnapped citizens languish in captivity and security forces struggle to contain escalating violence and banditry.”
The ADC said the president was “launching his re-election campaign under the guise of Renewed Hope Ambassadors,” accusing him of behaving more like a candidate than a leader confronting nationwide insecurity. The party insisted the move breached electoral laws and contradicted the seriousness of an emergency declaration.
It added that the president’s actions showed that “the president’s declaration of security emergency was a mere gimmick to grab headlines” and argued that early campaign activities proved politics had taken priority over the country’s worsening security situation.
The statement further condemned the “obscene distribution of campaign vehicles” at a time when children remain in captivity and citizens fear for their lives, saying the president must choose between “governance and campaigning.”
Peter Obi offered a similar critique, warning that the decision to procure luxury vehicles such as Hilux trucks and Hummer buses amid widespread hardship amounted to a profound moral failure.
He argued that leadership should not treat citizens’ suffering as the backdrop to political positioning, calling the situation “a tragic misplacement of priorities that is completely unacceptable.”
He noted that while Nigerians face hunger, school dropouts, deteriorating healthcare, and relentless insecurity, leaders should be directing resources to critical social needs instead of “brand-new Land Cruisers, Hilux and Hummers.”
Obi described the government’s actions as particularly troubling at a time when many families cannot afford school fees, mothers die from lack of medical supplies, and entire communities are under attack.
