By Wilson Iheduru, Owerri
The people of Ideato Federal Constituency in Imo State have showered encomiums on President Bola Ahmed Tinubu for approving 2,000 mini buses for the constituency under the Renewed Hope Mass Transit Scheme. Speaking to journalists on Sunday, the President of Ideato Progressive Alliance (IPA), Chief Ferdinand Nwosu, described the intervention as a significant opportunity to improve transportation, stimulate economic activities and create jobs for the people.
However, he lamented that the President’s gesture has been overshadowed by anger, disappointment and growing frustration over the failure of their lawmaker in the House of Representatives, Hon. Ikenga Imo Ugochinyere, to distribute the vehicles to the intended beneficiaries, despite the directive for the distribution to be concluded before the first week of September 2026.
This development came to public attention on October 24, 2026, when Dr. Abdul Suleiman, Chairman of the Implementation Committee of the Renewed Hope Mass Transit Scheme, disclosed during the APC presidential campaign flag-off in Kaduna that Ideato Federal Constituency had benefited from the presidential intervention, and funds already released to the contractor nominated by the lawmaker over four months ago.
According to the disclosure, President Tinubu had approved the immediate disbursement of the 2,000 mini buses, alongside an additional ₦1 million for each beneficiary to enable them convert the vehicle to compressed natural gas (CNG). The process had been entrusted to Ugochinyere to facilitate procurement and delivery to the beneficiaries.
Yet, with the month of October already in its final week, Ideato people are still waiting for the buses and the accompanying financial support. For a constituency whose people stand to benefit directly from such an intervention, the prolonged silence and absence of delivery constitute a disturbing failure of representation.
What has made the situation even more troubling are allegations surrounding the quality and procurement of the vehicles. Concerns have been raised that, rather than procuring the high-quality, brand-new buses expected to be imported directly from China, contractors said to have been fronted by Ugochinyere have been searching through mechanic villages and street markets in Onitsha, Nnewi, Enugu, Benin City and Port Harcourt for cheap, used and unarguably faulty vehicles. These allegations raise serious questions about the procurement process, the quality of the vehicles intended for beneficiaries and whether the presidential intervention is being implemented in accordance with its purpose.
Ideato people deserve a transparent process, brand-new and roadworthy buses, and full accountability for every naira committed to the scheme. A presidential intervention designed to empower ordinary citizens must never be reduced to an avenue for cutting corners or compromising public benefits.
Equally disturbing are concerns that the vehicles, once acquired, could be painted red and white, which represent the colors of Ugochinyere’s political party, and presented to the public as his personal gifts or political favours. Such a presentation would be unacceptable. These buses are an intervention of the APC-led Tinubu administration under the Renewed Hope Mass Transit Scheme, not the personal property of any lawmaker.
Their branding and public presentation should clearly reflect the programme through which they were provided, including appropriate identification of the Federal Government and the Renewed Hope initiative. No elected representative should be permitted to appropriate presidential goodwill, convert a government intervention into a personal political trophy or mislead beneficiaries about the source of a public benefit. Ideato people are entitled to know precisely who provided the buses and under which programme they were approved.
For Ideato people, this controversy has further revived painful memories of the truckloads of rice which President Tinubu sent to Ideato two years ago. A number of Ideato people contacted by this reporter on the matter roundly condemned the lawmaker’s handling of federal interventions, recalling the controversy surrounding the distribution of the presidential rice and his decision to brand the relief items with his own face without acknowledging that they came from the President.
Mazi Cletus Ugbaja, a community leader from Arondizuogu, while reacting to the delay in distributing the buses, condemned what he described as an unacceptable failure of representation. “President Tinubu has approved 2,000 buses and ₦1 million for each beneficiary, yet our people are still waiting. This is not a personal favour from Ikenga Ugochinyere. These are federal government benefits approved by the President for the people of Ideato. Why should our people be made to wait for an intervention that was supposed to have reached them before the first week of September? The lawmaker owes the people an explanation, and he must ensure that the beneficiaries receive exactly what the President approved.”
In his views, Mr. Chiedozie Umeji, a native of Akokwa, recalled the controversy over the truckloads of rice sent to Ideato two years ago and accused Ugochinyere of attempting to take personal credit for the intervention. “We have not forgotten what happened when President Tinubu sent rice to our people. There was a serious struggle before the rice was released for distribution, and when it eventually came, Ugochinyere branded it with his own face without acknowledging the President who provided it. That was wrong. Now, we are confronted with another presidential intervention, this time involving 2,000 buses and millions of naira in support funds. We cannot allow anybody to turn the President’s generosity into a personal political alms.”
Enraged by this development, Nze Okwuchukwu Offor, a respected elder from Urualla, expressed outrage over the allegations concerning the procurement of the buses, insisting that the beneficiaries deserved the quality of vehicles envisaged under the scheme. “It is deeply troubling that, instead of ensuring that brand-new buses are procured as intended, there are allegations that people acting for the lawmaker are searching mechanic villages and streets in different cities for old and faulty scrap vehicles. These buses are meant to empower our people, not to provide an opportunity for anyone to cut corners or amass funds to build a political war chest for election. We demand transparency. The people of Ideato must receive quality, brand-new buses, and the entire procurement process must be open to everyone.”
A woman leader from Umueshi, community, Amb. Mrs. Georgina Ukeje, warned against any attempt to withhold the ₦1 million approved for each beneficiary or present the buses as Ugochinyere’s personal gifts. “The ₦1 million attached to each bus belongs to each beneficiary under the approved scheme. Nobody has the right to withhold it or treat it as a political favour. The buses must also be properly identified as part of President Tinubu’s Renewed Hope intervention. We have seen what happened with the rice, where the President’s contribution was not acknowledged. We will not accept a repeat of that situation. If there is any diversion of the buses or the money, our people will petition the EFCC and demand a full investigation,” she threatened.
The central question agitating the people of Ideato and demanding an immediate answer is simple: why have the 2,000 buses not been delivered to the beneficiaries nearly two months after the expected completion date? Why has the process not produced the brand-new vehicles contemplated under the scheme? What has happened to the implementation arrangements entrusted to the constituency’s lawmaker, and what guarantees exist that every beneficiary will receive the approved ₦1 million for CNG conversion?
There is a consensus that Ideato people appreciate President Tinubu for remembering their constituency and providing an intervention of this magnitude. But gratitude to the President cannot mean silence in the face of non-delivery. The people are unanimous in there demand that Ugochinyere must urgently account for the delay, provide a transparent explanation of the procurement process and ensure the immediate release of the approved buses and accompanying funds to their rightful beneficiaries.
