Former Rivers State Governor and ex-Minister of Transportation, Rotimi Amaechi, has asserted that he, rather than President Bola Tinubu, played the decisive role in securing Muhammadu Buhari’s victory in the 2015 presidential election.
In a Friday interview on Arise News’ Prime Time, Amaechi, who is now eyeing the 2027 presidency under the African Democratic Congress (ADC), directly challenged longstanding claims made by Tinubu.
During his 2023 campaign, Tinubu had repeatedly stated that Buhari would not have become president without his intervention and support.
Amaechi explained that while serving as a minister in Buhari’s cabinet, he chose not to publicly contradict Tinubu’s narrative to avoid risking his position.
“When we decided to form the APC, while I was a minister, (Tinubu) was claiming he made Buhari president and I couldn’t respond because I was a minister under President Buhari. That would have been suicidal because Buhari could fire you,” Amaechi said.
He added: “So I couldn’t have said, ‘You are wrong.’ He didn’t make President Buhari president. Not only was I the DG of the campaign, but everybody will bear witness that I did all the battle. I led the Governors’ Forum, criss-crossed the country fighting here and there trying to get Nigerians to know that this is the time for change.”
Amaechi served as Director-General of Buhari’s presidential campaigns in both 2015 and 2019. He was also a central figure in the defection of several PDP governors that facilitated the formation of the All Progressives Congress (APC), which went on to defeat then-President Goodluck Jonathan.
While acknowledging Amaechi’s contributions, political observers note that Tinubu also played a significant role in the merger of opposition parties particularly through his Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) into the APC, helping to build the coalition that ousted the PDP from power.
Amaechi’s latest comments come as he positions himself within the growing opposition coalition ahead of the 2027 elections and amid his continued criticism of the Tinubu administration’s handling of the economy.
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