Billboards promoting President Bola Tinubu’s 2027 re-election bid have appeared across Lagos, featuring Tinubu alongside Lagos APC figures including Hon. Adewale Adeyemi. The message on the billboards urges voters to “continue” under the Hope banner. Nigerian politicians have a long history of jumping the gun on campaign materials.

In the buildup to both the 2019 and 2023 elections, billboards and campaign paraphernalia appeared well before INEC’s official campaign windows opened - often drawing criticism but rarely any consequences. What is different this time is the economic context. The billboards carry the “Hope” campaign theme - the same message that defined Tinubu’s 2023 run. 1 percent in February 2026, the cost of living remains painfully high for most households. Adding fuel to the fire, a misattributed 2018 video of former President Olusegun Obasanjo criticising past leadership as ineffective and incompetent has been circulating alongside the billboard backlash - amplifying the anger even further. A campaign slogan only works if the people it is aimed at still believe in the promise behind it. In 2023, “Hope” was enough to win.

Whether Tinubu’s team recalibrates the message before 2027 - or doubles down - will say a lot about how they read the mood of the country. And whether Nigerians buy it again is the only question that actually matters.