Former Minister of Transportation and presidential aspirant under the African Democratic Congress (ADC), Rotimi Amaechi, has accused the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) of weakening opposition parties ahead of the 2027 general elections.
Amaechi made the allegation on Friday during an interview on ARISE News PrimeTime, where he also urged Nigerians to reject ethnic politics and focus on competence when choosing leaders.
The former Rivers State governor claimed that the APC-led government was using state institutions to intimidate opposition voices and frustrate rival political parties.
“APC, if they say they are strong, why are they not allowing the opposition to have their political parties?” he asked.
“Why are they influencing political and government institutions against the opposition? Why won’t they leave the rule of law?”
Amaechi further alleged that critics of the government were increasingly facing persecution for expressing dissenting opinions.
“If you say anything, you’re locked up,” he claimed.
The former minister also defended the administration of former President Muhammadu Buhari, arguing that the current administration under President Bola Tinubu has performed worse.
“Compared to President Tinubu’s government, for Christ’s sake, man, when you have poles apart,” Amaechi said while responding to criticisms of the Buhari era.
According to him, although the Buhari administration did not fully deliver on all its promises, it achieved progress in certain sectors.
“Did we achieve the change? Here and there. In some areas, well, we did. In some areas, we did not,” he stated.
Amaechi, who played a prominent role in the coalition that removed the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) from power in 2015, said he was instrumental in Buhari’s emergence as president.
“Not only was I the DG of the campaign, but everybody would bear witness that I did all the battle,” he said.
The ADC presidential hopeful promised that if elected president in 2027, his administration would focus heavily on restoring law and order, improving security and creating jobs.
“The first thing I would do as president of Nigeria is rule of law. There has to be law and order,” Amaechi declared.
On the issue of insecurity, the former governor linked the rise in terrorism, kidnapping and banditry to increasing poverty and unemployment across the country.
“Nobody was born to be a terrorist. Circumstances and environment force you to be a terrorist,” he said.
Amaechi proposed large-scale housing and agricultural projects as a strategy to tackle unemployment and reduce crime.
“Just imagine that we built 300,000 houses in Kano. That would be 300,000 masons, 300,000 carpenters, 300,000 contractors,” he explained.
“The more jobs you create, the more you take people away from crime.”
The former Speaker of the Rivers State House of Assembly also criticised ethnic and regional politics, warning Nigerians against voting along tribal lines during future elections.
“Let Nigerians not vote for, ‘I’m Yoruba, I must vote for Yoruba government,’ or ‘I’m Hausa/Fulani,’” he said.
“At the end of the day, there’s no market for Hausa/Fulani, Yoruba, Ikwerre or Igbo. The market is currency, and kobo.”
Amaechi urged Nigerians to evaluate presidential aspirants based on their records in public office rather than ethnic identity.
“This election should be a referendum on all of us,” he stated.
“I have been governor, minister, speaker. You have a basis to assess me.”
He also pledged loyalty to the ADC and promised to support whoever emerges as the party’s presidential candidate, provided the process is transparent.
“Of course I will support the ADC,” Amaechi said. “But the process must be fair and transparent.”
