Abe Urges Amaechi To Resign As Atiku’s Running Mate, Cites Power Rotation

Senator Magnus Abe has urged former Rivers State Governor Rotimi Amaechi to resign as the running mate to former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar, insisting that the 2027 presidency should remain in the South in line with the principle of power rotation.

Abe made the call while delivering a goodwill message at a gathering of the Rainbow Coalition in Rivers State, where he declared the group’s support for President Bola Tinubu’s re-election bid.

He accused Amaechi of abandoning the position he previously upheld on the rotation of power between northern and southern Nigeria.

Abe recalled that during the administration of former President Goodluck Jonathan, who is from the South-South, Amaechi had opposed the continuation of Jonathan’s presidency, arguing that it would violate the unwritten power-sharing arrangement between the North and South.

He said Amaechi was now contradicting that position by supporting a northern presidential candidate at a time he believed the presidency should remain in the South.

“Today, the same man who led us to go against our son and our brother is now trying to lead us to go and support somebody from the North when it is the turn of the South,” Abe said.

He called on Amaechi to stand by his earlier position by withdrawing from the ticket with Atiku.

“On behalf of all of us here gathered in Rivers State, we want to call on Amaechi to immediately respect his own position and resign as the vice-presidential candidate to Atiku Abubakar,” he said.

Abe also declared the Rainbow Coalition’s full support for Tinubu ahead of the presidential election, using emphatic expressions to reaffirm the group’s allegiance to the president.

“We are not just with Tinubu. We are with Tinubu. We are for Tinubu. We are by Tinubu. We are in Tinubu. We are Tinubu here in this coalition,” he said.

He further maintained that Rivers State would uphold the principle of power rotation between the North and South, arguing that Atiku should respect the arrangement that had previously allowed him to serve as vice-president and contest presidential elections.

Abe reaffirmed his commitment to the Rainbow Coalition and its backing for Tinubu’s re-election bid in 2027.