Imo State Governor, Hope Uzodimma, has established a grassroots media team to mobilize support for President Bola Tinubu's re-election in 2027. The team, part of the Renewed Hope Ambassadors, will engage Nigerians across communities, highlighting the benefits of the Renewed Hope Agenda and the administration's policies. As chairman of the Progressives Governors Forum (PGF), Mr. Uzodimma mandated the team to promote the administration's achievements and reform gains since President Tinubu assumed office in May 2023.
The Director of Logistics of the Renewed Hope Ambassadors, Shehu Usman, announced the team's establishment in Abuja, stating that they have developed strategies for weekly media outreach and television appearances. The team will also counter misinformation about the administration's policies and communicate President Tinubu's achievements to voters at the grassroots. According to Mr. Usman, the initiative aims to effectively utilize digital and new media platforms to enlighten the public about the federal government's policies.
The grassroots mobilisation initiative comes amid a disagreement between Mr. Uzodimma-led PGF and Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, over a parallel campaign structure for President Tinubu's re-election. Mr. Wike has been promoting a Rainbow Coalition, which aims to mobilise support for the President's re-election. The coalition began in Rivers State, where Mr. Wike served as governor, and has since expanded to other parts of the country.
The PGF, chaired by Mr. Uzodimma, has opposed the coalition, citing concerns that it could undermine the party and its candidates ahead of the 2027 elections. Some APC leaders have alleged that Mr. Wike is using the coalition to support politicians who lost the party's primaries and are now contesting elections on the PDP platform. The governors have stated that they will not support any political arrangement that could undermine the APC and its candidates.
Mr. Wike has accused the governors of opposing the coalition due to selfish reasons and has criticised their performance in their respective states. He specifically named Mr. Uzodimma, AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq of Kwara State, and Dapo Abiodun of Ogun State as opponents of the coalition. The PDP has backed Mr. Wike's continued mobilisation for President Tinubu's re-election, despite the party's decision to field Sandy Onor as its presidential candidate for 2027.
The APC South-east caucus and other mobilisation groups within the party have rejected the coalition and called on Mr. Wike to apologise to the party's governors over his comments about their political capacity and opposition to the Rainbow Coalition. The national leadership of the APC has not publicly taken a position on whether it supports Mr. Wike's coalition, leaving its status within the party unclear.
The Renewed Hope Ambassadors' grassroots media team will mobilise across communities, markets, wards, and polling units ahead of the 2027 elections. The team aims to establish a communication network capable of taking the Renewed Hope message into communities, markets, campuses, wards, and polling units. This initiative demonstrates Mr. Uzodimma's plan to use the media to mobilise support for President Tinubu, particularly at the grassroots, ahead of the 2027 election.
Key points
- Imo Governor Hope Uzodimma establishes a grassroots media team to campaign for President Bola Tinubu's re-election.
- The team will engage Nigerians across communities, highlighting the benefits of the Renewed Hope Agenda and the administration's policies.
- The initiative comes amid a disagreement between Mr. Uzodimma-led PGF and Minister Nyesom Wike over a parallel campaign structure for President Tinubu's re-election.
