Imo State Governor and Chairman of the Progressive Governors' Forum (PGF), Hope Uzodimma, on Wednesday declared that the 2027 general election would serve as a referendum on the reform agenda of President Bola Tinubu. He urged supporters of the administration to embark on aggressive grassroots mobilisation to secure public backing for the government's policies.
Speaking at the Renewed Hope Ambassadors (RHA) Retreat on National Mobilisation in Abuja, Uzodimma said Nigerians would be confronted with a defining choice at the next polls: whether to sustain the current administration's economic and governance reforms or return to what he described as the failed policies of the past.
"2027 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 said.
The governor argued that President Tinubu had demonstrated uncommon political courage by implementing difficult policies, including the removal of fuel subsidy and the unification of the foreign exchange market, which previous administrations had avoided despite acknowledging their economic costs.
"No country was ever built by leaders who run from hard decisions. The easy path was wide open. Leave the fuel subsidy untouched. Keep the old exchange-rate windows. Let our children inherit the bill. President Tinubu refused. He took the harder road because he knew it was the right one," Uzodimma stated.
Defending the administration's economic direction, he maintained that the reforms were beginning to yield positive outcomes, citing improvements in fiscal management, infrastructure development and economic growth. According to him, the government has moved beyond economic stabilisation and is now entering a phase of accelerated development.
"The seed of sacrifice is beginning to bear fruit. This administration has moved from stabilisation to acceleration, from holding the line to pushing forward," he said.
Uzodimma pointed to major infrastructure projects across the country, including the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway, Sokoto-Badagry Super Highway, Abuja-Kaduna-Zaria-Kano Road, Enugu-Onitsha Expressway and Bodo-Bonny Road, as evidence of the administration's commitment to economic transformation and national integration.
He also highlighted initiatives in healthcare, education and social welfare, including the student loan scheme, consumer credit programme, healthcare sector reforms, the Presidential CNG Initiative and the implementation of a new national minimum wage.
Beyond governance, however, the governor identified communication as one of the administration's biggest challenges, warning that policy successes could be overshadowed if government supporters failed to effectively engage citizens and counter misinformation.
"It is not always failure that undoes a government. 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," he warned.
He consequently charged members of the Renewed Hope Ambassadors to become the frontline communicators of government policies at the grassroots, taking the message of reform directly to communities, markets, campuses and polling units across the country.
Describing the organisation as a bridge between government and the people, Uzodimma said the RHA would play a pivotal role in explaining reforms, gathering citizen feedback and strengthening public confidence in the administration.
As part of preparations for the 2027 elections, he unveiled an expansive mobilisation architecture stretching from the national level to the country's 176,846 polling units. The structure, he explained, would operate through the six geopolitical zones, the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory, 774 local government areas and 8,809 wards.
"At twenty-five 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 mobilisation. That is the difference between hoping to win and organising to win," he said.
The governor stressed that victory in 2027 would depend not on sentiment but on performance, organisation, discipline and credibility. He urged members of the organisation to work closely with the All Progressives Congress (APC) and other stakeholders, insisting that the Renewed Hope Ambassadors were established to complement existing party structures.
"The RHA is not a rival party. It is the engine that helps the party move, in disciplined partnership with every stakeholder," he said.
Calling for unity among supporters of the administration, Uzodimma urged participants at the retreat to translate loyalty into measurable political organisation and ensure that government achievements resonate with ordinary Nigerians.
"We stand with the President who chose courage over comfort. We stand with the citizens who deserve truth, dignity, security and a fair chance. We stand with Nigeria," he declared.
He further charged coordinators across the federation to leave the retreat with clear action plans, mobilisation targets and communication strategies, insisting that the future of the Renewed Hope agenda would depend on effective grassroots engagement and sustained delivery of democratic dividends.
