The Director-General of the Renewed Hope Ambassadors and Chairman of the Progressive Governors' Forum, Hope Uzodimma, said on Wednesday that the party has recruited 4,421,150 people across Nigeria’s 176,846 polling units. This is part of their plan for the upcoming 2027 elections.
Uzodimma believes that President Bola Tinubu’s performance will help him win a second term in the 2027 general election.
The governor, who also leads Imo State, spoke at the two-day Renewed Hope Ambassadors National Retreat at the Transcorp Hilton in Abuja.
He said the retreat aims to create a united grassroots mobilization strategy ahead of the 2027 elections.
“At 25 canvassers to a polling unit, that is a lawful civic force of 4,421,150 people across the federation. That is the mathematics of serious mobilization. That is the difference between hoping to win and organizing to win,” he stated.
Uzodimma explained that they have a command structure that goes from a national center to six geopolitical zones, 36 states, the FCT, 774 local governments, 8,809 registration areas, and down to each of the polling units.
He mentioned that the RHA operates through 17 directorates focusing on youth, organization, mobilization, media, finance, monitoring, compliance, technology, support groups, and more.
He also highlighted a digital platform launched in April, which includes a Data Communication Centre to monitor public sentiment and fight misinformation in real time.
Uzodimma described the 2027 elections as a crucial moment, saying they will be “a referendum on a single question: does Nigeria stay on this hard but necessary road of reform, stability, and shared prosperity, or turn back?”
He told the participants, coordinators from all six geopolitical zones, that the retreat is a working session that should produce important documents before they leave.
“Do not waste it on speeches. Build something that lasts,” he urged, telling the delegates to be the link between government policies and the people at every ward, market, and polling unit.
He pointed out that the main weakness of any government is silence.
According to him, “Very often, it is silence. When we do good work and nobody hears the story, someone else tells it for us, and they tell it wrong. When reform goes unexplained, rumor rushes in to fill the gap.”
Uzodimma defended key policies of the government, like the removal of fuel subsidy and foreign exchange reforms. He said these tough decisions aim to secure Nigeria’s economic future.
“The President chose the path of courage over convenience. Our responsibility is to explain these reforms to Nigerians and ensure the benefits are understood at the grassroots,” he said.
He pointed to recent economic indicators as proof that the reforms are working, noting a 3.89 percent Gross Domestic Product growth in the first quarter of 2026.
He also mentioned major government projects like the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway, Sokoto-Badagry Road, and others that show progress in infrastructure.
Uzodimma highlighted improvements in healthcare, student loans, consumer credit, the new minimum wage, tax reforms, and the Presidential Compressed Natural Gas Initiative.
In his welcome speech, the APC National Chairman, Prof. Nentawe Yilwatda, said the Tinubu administration has made significant economic progress. He pointed to what he called clear results from the government's reforms over the last three years.
He shared that Nigeria's foreign reserves have grown to over $50 billion, and that the country had a trade surplus of N7.55 trillion in the first quarter of 2026. He also noted that Shell, which had been reducing investments in Nigeria, has now committed an additional $20 billion to the economy.
“Investors who once sat on the sidelines are now taking a fresh look at Nigeria. Shell, that was pulling investment, is committing a fresh $20 billion into our economy,” Yilwatda said.
He said major credit rating agencies have improved Nigeria’s ratings, citing better management of foreign exchange, fiscal performance, and increased confidence from investors. States and local governments are also getting more funding due to growing government revenues.
The chairman urged the Renewed Hope Ambassadors to turn the administration’s economic data into relatable stories.
He said, “Policies do not speak for themselves. Projects do not speak for themselves. Statistics do not speak for themselves. People speak.
“When discussing student loans, tell the story of a young Nigerian whose future has been transformed through access to education.
“When discussing health insurance and cancer centers, tell the story of families gaining access to quality healthcare. Data informs minds, but stories inspire hearts.”
Yilwatda also highlighted the economic growth data from Uzodimma’s speech, which noted that real GDP grew by 3.89 percent year-on-year in the first quarter of 2026, up from 3.13 percent the year before, with the non-oil sector making up 96.08 percent of the growth, according to the National Bureau of Statistics.
He mentioned key infrastructure projects like the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway, the Sokoto-Badagry Super Highway, designed with over 300 dams for agriculture, energy, and water distribution, and the Ajaokuta-Kaduna-Kano Gas Pipeline as important projects in the administration’s development agenda.
Meanwhile, the Secretary of the Renewed Hope Ambassadors and Governor of Gombe State, Inuwa Yahaya, said the retreat is a direct response to the upcoming 2027 elections.
Yahaya noted, “We are here because Nigeria is in a race against time as the 2027 general election is fast approaching. Mobilization is the engine that will power our Renewed Hope Agenda to victory and beyond.”
The governor referred to himself as “a committed soldier of the Renewed Hope Agenda,” and asked participants to use facts to counter what he called a “coordinated campaign of disinformation” by the opposition. He also asked for strict confidentiality on internal strategy documents.
He said, “Any document intended for public consumption will be shared through the right channels.”
Former Nasarawa State Governor and APC member Tanko Al-Makura, speaking to journalists, said the Renewed Hope Agenda is the result of over 12 years of the APC’s political journey.
The Renewed Hope Ambassadors retreat happened just days after the APC finished its nationwide staggered primaries for the 2027 elections. These primaries selected candidates for the House of Representatives, Senate, state Houses of Assembly, and governorship roles.
After briefing President Tinubu during the Sallah holidays, APC National Chairman Nentawe Yilwatda called the primaries the most competitive in Nigeria’s political history.
The Renewed Hope Ambassadors was set up in late 2025 as a formal civic engagement arm of the Tinubu administration’s support network to mobilize grassroots communication of government policies.
According to its website, the platform also aims to respond to the spread of false information about the administration’s achievements.
On November 25, 2025, President Bola Tinubu named Uzodimma as a “Renewed Hope Ambassador” ahead of the national rollout of the Federal Government’s Ward Development Programme.
In this role, the Presidency said Uzodimma would also serve as Director-General for party outreach, engagement, and mobilization.
On February 17, 2026, he appointed Kaduna State Governor Uba Sani as Deputy Director-General for party outreach, engagement, and mobilization of the Renewed Hope Ambassadors.
The RHA held its first summit in February 2026, where it presented a Renewed Hope Compendium and a grassroots communication framework. At this summit, Vice President Kashim Shettima, speaking for the President, declared 2026 as the Year of Acceleration.
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