Hon. Rotimi Amaechi, the African Democratic Congress vice-presidential candidate, has attributed his defeat in the 2022 All Progressives Congress presidential primary to his choice to heed the advice of the late President Muhammadu Buhari not to campaign before the contest.
Amaechi stated that Buhari had given him written assurance that he would name him as his preferred candidate, which led him to hold back from lobbying delegates and negotiating political alliances before the primary.
He made this known on Friday during an interview on Mainland 98.3FM’s The Situation Room program in Lagos, as he reflected on how President Bola Tinubu defeated him to secure the APC presidential ticket in 2022.
Amaechi explained that he found Buhari’s position credible because the former president was his boss, and he believed the endorsement would give him an edge over other aspirants.
He said, “The first mistake that I made at that primary was that I listened to President Buhari. He said to me, ‘Don’t campaign. Don’t do anything. I will announce you as my candidate.’
“He told me that. He put it in writing. When I write my book, I’ll put it out.”
The former Minister of Transportation stated that his decision not to negotiate political positions with governors and other influential party members also worked against his ambition, giving Tinubu an opportunity to build alliances ahead of the primary.
Amaechi explained that he could have won the governors’ support by promising them political appointments, such as the positions of vice-president and secretary to the government of the federation.
“Now, I didn’t do deals. So I would have promised you vice-president, promised you SGF, and then would have gone for this primary; I would have possibly won. I would have had governors on my side.
“Because I didn’t do deals, Tinubu had the chance to do deals,” he said.
Amaechi, who also contested the 2022 APC presidential primary, went on to accuse Tinubu of using religious sentiment to win backing from delegates, especially in the North.
He stated, however, that he would not use religion as a political instrument to win elections, calling his stance a reflection of his nationalist beliefs.
The ADC leader claimed that a delegation of Southern Yoruba Muslims had met with governors in the North-West and urged them to back Tinubu on religious grounds.
He further referenced the stance of former Kaduna State Governor Nasir El-Rufai, who he said had supported his presidential ambition before ultimately backing Tinubu.
“El-Rufai was my supporter. El-Rufai, in a viral video, said this is done for the faith,” Amaechi said.
He stated that appealing to religious identity for political support could deepen divisions in the country, adding that he would not encourage such an approach even if it offered him an electoral advantage.
“I wouldn’t want to run that kind of federation. Catholics are 35 million in Nigeria. I wouldn’t want to go to the Catholic Church and say, please announce me. Tell them that all Catholics must go out and vote for Amaechi.
“It will cause confusion. It will cause problems in the country. That makes me a nationalist,” he said.
Amaechi casts doubt on the idea that Tinubu is a remarkably strategic politician, asking why, if his political success rested on an extraordinary knack for maneuvering, he had not become president sooner.
At the APC presidential primary held at Eagle Square, Abuja, in June 2022, Tinubu defeated Amaechi and the other aspirants, securing 1,271 votes to Amaechi’s 316.
That contest opened the door for Tinubu to become the APC candidate in the 2023 presidential election, which he went on to win.
Amaechi, who served as Minister of Transportation under Buhari, had earlier been a close political ally of the former president and led his successful 2015 presidential campaign.
He is now the running mate of former Vice President Atiku Abubakar on the ADC ticket for the 2027 presidential election.
