The African Democratic Congress (ADC) has sharply criticised President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, accusing him of diverting attention from Nigeria’s worsening security crisis by allegedly kick-starting his 2027 re-election bid under the guise of political mobilisation.

The party said the move is not only ill-timed but undermines the integrity of the security emergency that the President himself declared.

In a statement signed by the ADC’s National Publicity Secretary, Mallam Bolaji Abdullahi, the opposition party condemned reports that the President distributed branded vehicles to political mobilisers operating under the ‘Renewed Hope Ambassadors’ banner nationwide.

It warned that such activity breaches the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC)’s campaign timetable and sets a troubling precedent for governance during an emergency.

According to Abdullahi, the development casts doubt on the administration’s commitment to addressing the escalating insecurity that has left many Nigerians kidnapped, displaced and living in fear.

“The African Democratic Congress (ADC) is deeply appalled by reports that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has distributed fleets of Hilux trucks, Land Cruisers, and Hummer buses to political agents across the country, thereby effectively kick-starting his 2027 re-election bid,” Abdullahi said.

The party argued that while the country urgently needs strengthened security measures and an unwavering focus on restoring safety, the government appears to be carrying on with routine political activities despite the severity of the national emergency.

“While ordinary citizens are being kidnapped, displaced, and killed, the President is handing out branded vehicles and building a partisan mobilisation structure,” Abdullahi noted.

The ADC insisted that a genuine national emergency requires extraordinary discipline from leadership, not symbolic gestures or business-as-usual governance.

“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,” it stated.

The party also highlighted the unusual nature of the situation, noting that Tinubu has become the first elected Nigerian President to declare a national security emergency while allegedly beginning a re-election drive at the same time.

It urged INEC to move beyond observation and take concrete steps to address what it described as clear violations of electoral regulations.

“These actions are in clear violation of electoral regulations, and we expect INEC to act decisively to protect the integrity of the process,” Abdullahi declared.

The ADC stressed that a President cannot serve as the head of a nation in crisis and as an active political candidate simultaneously, warning that such dual roles send the wrong signals at a time when the country needs stability and clarity of purpose.

“Leadership in times of crisis demands focus, sacrifice, and moral clarity. Lavish convoys and early campaigns are not the answers to national trauma,” the party insisted.

The statement urged the President to “recommit fully to tackling insecurity or acknowledge that political ambition is now overshadowing governance.” (Vanguard)