Former Minister of Transportation Rotimi Amaechi, on Thursday, pledged to transform Nigeria within four years if elected in the 2027 general election.
Amaechi promised to base the 2027 election on competence, experience, and performance, rather than ethnic or regional sentiments, after submitting his nomination forms at the ADC headquarters in Abuja.
He also criticized President Bola Tinubu’s administration for the country’s economic hardship.
“What Nigerians should do is assess all of us who are running for office based on our records,” he said.
“Nearly everybody who is running for the office of the president has served Nigeria in one way or another. Let this be a referendum. If you have performed, whoever has outperformed the other, vote for that person.”
Amaechi maintained that his years in public office had qualified him for the challenge of leading the country, noting his time as governor and then minister of transportation under former President Muhammadu Buhari.
“The next thing is, who is capable of delivering the votes? Who is capable of beating the incumbent? Who has the experience? I believe I am the most experienced.
“I am young, I am the most experienced, and I believe I have the capacity. Go back to Rivers State and see what I have done. Go back to the Ministry of Transportation and see what I have done, and assess it and see whether I can turn the country around. And I will, in four years, turn the country around,” he declared.
Amaechi, who was governor of Rivers State from 2007 to 2015, was a key figure in the formation of the All Progressives Congress and later served as director-general of late President Muhammadu Buhari’s 2015 campaign council.
As Minister of Transportation from 2015 to 2023, he oversaw major railway projects, including the Abuja-Kaduna and Lagos-Ibadan rail lines.
However, critics questioned the rising debt associated with some infrastructure projects.
“Nigerians should vote for merit, not vote for those who say, ‘I’m from this place’ or ‘It is our turn.’
“It is the ‘Emilokan’ mentality that brought us here. It is our turn that brought us here. Now Nigerians are suffering,” he said.
According to him, the country’s economic situation cut across religious and ethnic divides.
“There is no market for Christians, nor is there a market for Muslims, nor a market for northerners or southerners. The market has only one purpose — the naira. Nigerians are suffering.
“The current president has put us in this suffering. I don’t know why he wants to run again. I don’t even know why the APC wants to participate. They should be ashamed and allow other Nigerians to participate and change the country,” Amaechi added.
Speaking on the forthcoming ADC presidential primaries, Amaechi said he preferred a direct primary process but would accept a consensus arrangement if it favored him.
“I’m going for primary. If the consensus is me, fine. But if it’s not me, I’m going for primary,” he said.
Amaechi’s remark comes as political realignment intensifies ahead of the 2027 elections, with opposition parties attempting to form stronger coalitions capable of defeating the ruling APC.
The ADC has recently attracted several high-profile politicians looking to position themselves for the next electoral cycle, as discussions over economic reforms, insecurity, and governance continue to dominate the political landscape.
Although the party has recently lost some notable members to the Nigerian Democratic Congress, including former presidential contenders Peter Obi and Rabiu Kwankwaso.
