‘I’ll treat FCT like a state if you vote for me’ — Amaechi tells Abuja delegates

 

Rotimi Amaechi, former governor of Rivers and presidential hopeful on the platform of the All Progressives Congress (APC), says the federal capital territory (FCT) will be treated as a state if he is elected president.

 

In recent years, indigenes of the FCT have been complaining about being excluded from governance.

 

In March, a constitutional amendment bill seeking to provide for an office of a mayor for the FCT failed to scale through at the national assembly.

 

Amaechi said in addition to the FCT being recognised as a state, indigenes will contribute to the process of appointing a minister for the nation’s capital.

 

 “If you elect me as your president, ministers will know their portfolio before they get to the national assembly so that when the national assembly is interviewing a minister, they’ll interview the minister to know their capacity, to see how qualified he is to be minister for transport for instance. So that when they are asked questions, it will border on how they can tackle challenges in those sectors,” he said.

 

“I will treat you like a state, but you must give me the power to treat you like a state by voting for me. If given the chance, the FCT minister will be from FCT.

 

“All of us will participate collectively. So that if we fail or succeed all of us will be participants in either the failure or the success. But I can assure you we won’t fail because I’ve never failed.”

 

Ameachi, who was in Nasarawa earlier in the day, told APC delegates that he will transform the state’s agricultural sector if he is elected president.

 

“I will fight to change the economy by focusing on agriculture. I will also invest in the manufacturing and production industries because the problem in Nigeria is that we moved into the service industry and we have refused to pay attention to production,” he said.

 

“So you see somebody producing chicken, he doesn’t have a processing factory, he doesn’t have an abattoir that will kill the chicken, process it and sell it as a finished product.

 

“If you have a processing factory you will employ more hands. So, we will depend on States like Nasarawa that have a very high level of practice in agriculture, and that will change the face of Nasarawa state.”

 

In his remarks, Abdullahi Sule, governor of Nasarawa, said Amaechi Amaechi has “fought” for every post he has had in his political career.

 

“You don’t have to sell yourself to me at all. I may know you more than you think I do. One introduction about you that was not done is the doggedness of who you are, you are a dogged fighter,” he said.

 

“You fought to emerge as the chairman of the governor’s forum, you fought to become the Rivers governor, everything about you, you fought to get them. So today you are fighting to be the president of Nigeria. I wish you well.

 

“The most amazing thing is the intimidating team you have been able to put together, a lot of people in your team are well known to me and one thing about our party is that we have competent aspirants and I was happy when you mentioned that even among the aspirants in the party you are the most competent.”