Former Rivers State Governor Rotimi Amaechi has stated that he, and not President Bola Tinubu, played the important role in making late Muhammadu Buhari president in 2015.
Speaking in a Friday interview on Arise News’ Prime Time, Amaechi, who is now a presidential aspirant under the African Democratic Congress, ADC, addressed longstanding claims by Tinubu.
During his pre-2023 campaigning, Tinubu mentioned that Buhari would not have become president without him and that it was his turn to become one too.
However, Amaechi explained that as a serving minister under Buhari, he could not publicly challenge Tinubu’s assertions 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 terminate your employment,” Amaechi said.
He continued, “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 battling.
“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 was director-general of Buhari’s 2015 and 2019 presidential campaigns.
He played a crucial role in the 2013-2014 defection of PDP governors, which helped build the APC alliance that eventually ousted President Goodluck Jonathan.
However, Tinubu was also essential in Buhari’s rise to power, spearheading the merging of major opposition groups, including his Action Congress of Nigeria, to establish the All Progressives Congress, which challenged and defeated the then-ruling PDP.
The remarks come as Amaechi prepares to run for president in 2027 as a member of the ADC’s burgeoning opposition coalition.
Recently, he has been loud in his criticism of the Tinubu administration’s handling of economic difficulties.
