Former Governor of Rivers State and twice Minister of Transport, Rotimi Amaechi, has opened up about why he chose not to support President Bola Ahmed Tinubu in the recent election. Speaking at a public lecture held to mark his 60th birthday, Amaechi said he was convinced that Tinubu was not capable of leading Nigeria effectively.
“I met President Tinubu in Yola and I told him I will not work for you and I will not vote for you,” Amaechi stated plainly. He added that his refusal was based on his belief about Tinubu’s ability to govern, not party loyalty. “People have been saying I do not work for All People’s Congress (APC) or Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), that is because I was convinced that there was an issue of capacity.”
The lecture, held in Abuja under the theme “Weaponization of Poverty,” attracted several prominent Nigerians, including Emir of Kano Muhammadu Sanusi II, Nobel Laureate Prof Wole Soyinka, former Kaduna State Governor Nasir El-Rufai, Bayelsa Governor Seriake Dickson, and former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, among others.
Amaechi noted that Nigeria’s current problems partly arise because many citizens vote based on religion and ethnicity rather than policies or competence. He said, “Let me tell you, no Nigerian leader cares for the poor, because they know that Nigerians can do nothing to them once they are in power. When Nigerians protested, the President announced an increase in the price of fuel because they know you cannot do anything.”
He also expressed concerns about the lack of focus on development and respect for expertise in governance. “Nigerian leaders and elites are not the problem of Nigeria; the problem of Nigeria is the followers,” Amaechi said. He pointed out that Nigeria claims to be capitalist but does not produce anything meaningful, relying solely on crude oil revenue.
Amaechi shared a personal experience from his time as Minister of Transport, where he felt ashamed of an appointee who seemed more interested in currying favor through language and ethnic identity than doing the job properly. “I appointed her to improve and turnaround things around, unfortunately, she was more interested in speaking Hausa/Fulani to the President.”
Regarding religious divisions, Amaechi stressed that ordinary Nigerians of different faiths live peacefully but tensions arise during elections. “An ordinary northerner who is a Muslim has no problem with the ordinary southerner who is a Christian. It is when they come to elections, they will tell you. Now you have a Muslim-Muslim ticket. Let the Muslim-Muslim market come out now. It’s time. We are all hungry. All of us are. If you are not hungry, I am,” he noted.
