By Adesina Soyooye
A boastful and confident immediate past Minister of Transportation, Rotimi Amaechi, says he will get the Presidential ticket of the African Democratic Congress, ADC.
Amaechi, projecting a sure-footed disposition says the reason is simple.
Flaunting his credentials, Amaechi said he is not only the most qualified and experienced of all those vying for the Presidential ticket of the ADC, but he is, also, the youngest. “I am 60, I don’t know how old Obi is. I guess he should be between 64 and 66.”
An open competition, he emphasized, would strengthen internal democracy in the ADC.
Amaechi: “If I lose the primaries, I will be in the ADC. It is not about me; it is about installing a responsible government. But would I get the ticket? I think the answer is yes. I am the youngest of the three of us; I am 60. I don’t know how old Obi is, but I guess he should between 64 and 66. I am able to jump around. I am able to fly to wherever I need to fly to now.”
Then he flaunted his qualification:
Amaechi: “I am the most experienced of all the candidates in the ADC: I was Speaker of the Rivers State House of Assembly, two-term Governor, Chairman of the Nigeria Governors’ Forum, Minister of Transportation. And I led a campaign for the first time in the history of Nigeria that took out the sitting president. Nobody wants to credit me with that.”
He emphasized why he quit the APC, a party which foundation member he was, and under which he was, for eight years, the Minister for Transportation under the Government of late President Muhammadu Buhari. His decision to abandon the APC, he said was rooted in principles not on personal grudges. Amaechi tagged President Bola Tinubu’s Government as a failure and said it has abandoned all democratic ideals, and is drifting towards authoritarianism, and deployment of state institutions to suppress dissent.
Amaechi: “The truth is simple. I did not agree with the choice of the presidential candidate. I did not believe he had the capacity to govern Nigeria. And I still do not believe so. What is happening today has only confirmed my position. If I believe that someone lacks capacity, how then do I remain in the same party supporting that leadership?
“That would make me dishonest. I had worked closely with him, so I knew exactly what I was talking about. Nigerians may not have had the opportunity to work with him closely, but I did. That experience shaped my judgment.
“Tinubu preached democracy, but today, what we are seeing is autocracy. Security agencies are being used to intimidate critics and opposition figures.”
He advised that his new Party must be “strategic in picking its flagbearer because zoning sentiments and the current power rotation arrangement could significantly shape voter behaviour, especially in the South.”
Amaechi was defeated by then aspirant, Senator Bola Tinubu in the APC Presidential Primary. In the main election, Candidate Tinubu was declared winner by the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC.
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