The African Democratic Congress (ADC) has criticised President Bola Ahmed Tinubu over reports that he distributed fleets of Hilux trucks, Land Cruisers, and Hummer buses to political associates across the country.
Reacting to a Sahara Reporters report which claimed President Bola Tinubu presented a Toyota Land Cruiser, a Toyota Hilux, and a Hummer bus to each state coordinator under the Renewed Hope Ambassadors, a structure led by Imo State Governor Hope Uzodimma.
The party accused the President of prioritising his 2027 re-election campaign over Nigeria’s worsening security crisis.
In a statement posted on his official X handle on Thursday, December 4, ADC National Publicity Secretary Bolaji Abdullahi described the move as “a confirmation that President Tinubu’s declaration of a national security emergency was a gimmick designed for headlines.”
According to Abdullahi, the alleged distribution of campaign vehicles shows that “the President’s declaration of security emergency was a mere gimmick to grab newspaper headlines and means nothing to a President whose priority remains his re-election.”
The statement condemned what it called the President’s misplaced priorities amid nationwide insecurity.
Abdullahi said, “While ordinary citizens are being kidnapped, displaced, and killed, the President is handing out branded vehicles and building a partisan mobilisation structure.
“Entire communities are living under siege, our armed forces are stretched thin, yet the ruling party is preparing for rallies.”
He added that Tinubu’s actions contradicted his own declaration of a state of emergency, arguing that the President has demonstrated that governance has taken a back seat to political self-preservation.
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“What we have seen under President Tinubu is that, apart from the declaration itself and a few symbolic gestures, nothing of substance has changed; no new safety measures, no heightened security alertness or presence, nothing. Instead, it has been business as usual,” Abdullahi said.
He further criticised what the party called the “Renewed Hope Ambassadors project” and the “obscene distribution of campaign vehicles at a time when an undermined number of children are still in captivity and the entire nation cowers in fear.”
Abdullahi noted that Tinubu risked setting an unprecedented record for campaigning while exercising emergency powers.
“President Tinubu is the first elected Nigerian President to declare a nationwide emergency on security.
“It should now be on record that he is the first President to launch his re-election campaign while the country is under emergency rule,” he stated.
According to the ADC spokesman, this alleged act not only reflects poor judgment but also breaches electoral laws.
“We must also remind the President that, according to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), the window for campaign activities ahead of the 2027 elections has not yet opened.
“These actions are in clear violation of electoral regulations, and we expect INEC to act decisively to protect the integrity of the process,” Abdullahi said.
He urged the President to choose between governance and partisan politics, saying, “President Tinubu must make a choice. He cannot govern under emergency powers while operating as a candidate on the campaign trail. One path leads to public service, the other to political opportunism.”
Abdullahi concluded by urging the President to refocus on Nigeria’s security and development needs instead of furthering his own ambition.
“Leadership in times of crisis demands focus, sacrifice, and moral clarity. Lavish convoys and early campaigns are not the answers to national trauma.
“The President must return to the business of governance or step aside and admit that his political ambition now stands in the way of Nigeria’s recovery,” he said.