Former Rivers State governor and ex-Minister of Transportation, Rotimi Amaechi, on Thursday launched a scathing attack on the ruling All Progressives Congress, declaring that the “Emilokan” philosophy that influenced the 2023 presidential election had plunged Nigerians into hardship.
Speaking in Abuja shortly after submitting his presidential nomination form ahead of the 2027 election, Amaechi said Nigeria could no longer afford to elect leaders based on ethnicity, religion, or claims of whose “turn” it was to govern.
“It is what do you call it, Emilokan, that brought us here. It is our turn that brought us here,” Amaechi said.
He argued that ordinary Nigerians were more concerned about economic survival than identity politics.
“There is no market for Christians, neither is there a market for Muslims, or a market for northerners or southerners. The market has only just one purpose — the forex, the naira. Nigerians are suffering,” he stated.
In one of his strongest criticisms yet of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and the APC-led administration, Amaechi blamed the current government for the country’s economic challenges and questioned the ruling party’s push for re-election in 2027.
“The current president has put us in this suffering. I don’t know why he wants to run. I don’t even know why APC wants to participate. They should be ashamed and allow other Nigerians to participate and change the country,” he said.
The former minister urged Nigerians to reject ethnic and regional sentiments during the next election cycle and instead vote based on competence and performance.
“Nigerians should vote for merit, not vote for those who say, ‘I’m from this place,’ or ‘vote for me because my people have not been voted for before,’ or ‘it’s our turn,’” he added.
Amaechi described the 2027 presidential race as a referendum on the track records of those seeking office, insisting that candidates should be judged by their previous service to the country.
“Nearly everybody running for president has served Nigeria in one way or another. Let this be a referendum. Whoever has outperformed the others should get the votes,” he said.
Highlighting his credentials, Amaechi pointed to his tenure as governor of Rivers State and later as Minister of Transportation as evidence of his capacity to lead the country.
“I believe I am the most experienced. I am young, I am 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 assess what I achieved,” he stated.
He further pledged to transform the country within a single term if elected president.
“And I will, in four years, turn the country around,” Amaechi declared.
On the process for selecting the party’s presidential candidate, the former governor said he preferred a direct primary but would accept a consensus arrangement if it favoured 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.
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