The African Democratic Congress (ADC) has criticised President Bola Ahmed Tinubu for apparently starting his 2027 re-election campaign while the country is still under a state of emergency.

The party called it cynically insensitive, stating that it undermines the very purpose of the emergency declaration.

In a statement by the party’s National Publicity Secretary, Mallam Bolaji Abdullahi, the ADC condemned the President’s distribution of branded vehicles to political agents across Nigeria, noting that ordinary citizens continue to suffer kidnappings and escalating violence.

The party said that by launching his campaign under the name “Renewed Hope Ambassadors,” Tinubu “is acting more like a presidential candidate focused on re-election than a President of a nation under emergency rule, with worsening security crises engulfing the country.”

ADC also accused the President of violating the Electoral Act and the INEC timetable.

The statement said: “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.

“Coming at a time when Nigeria remains under a declared state of emergency due to worsening insecurity, this action shows that the President’s declaration was a mere gimmick for headlines and means nothing to a President whose priority is re-election.”

The party expressed surprise over the ‘campaign’ at a time of agony for Nigerians.

“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 under siege, our armed forces are stretched thin, yet the ruling party is preparing for rallies. At a time when children are being kidnapped and countless communities attacked, the President is focused on re-election, seeking to continue presiding over a nation that has become more fractured and dangerous than he found it.”

“We also remind the President that, according to INEC, the official campaign period for the 2027 elections has not yet begun. These actions clearly violate electoral rules, and we expect INEC to act to protect the integrity of the process.”

ADC admonished the President to return to governance or admit that his political ambition now stands in the way of Nigeria’s recovery.