How Buhari’s Advice Cost Me APC Presidential Ticket, Handed Victory To Tinubu — Amaechi Reveals

Former Minister of Transportation, Rotimi Amaechi, has blamed his defeat to President Bola Tinubu in the 2022 All Progressives Congress (APC) presidential primary on his decision to follow the advice of former President Muhammadu Buhari.

Amaechi said Buhari had promised to endorse him as the APC presidential candidate but advised him against campaigning or negotiating with delegates ahead of the party’s primary.

The former Rivers State governor, who is now the vice-presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), disclosed this during an interview on Mainland 98.3FM’s The Situation Room programme in Lagos on Friday.

According to him, he believed Buhari’s assurance would secure him the party’s ticket, prompting him to avoid the political negotiations that characterised the contest.

He said, “The first mistake that I made at that primary was that I listened to President Buhari. He said to me, ‘Don’t campaign. Don’t do anything. I will announce you as my candidate.’

“He told me that. He put it in writing. When I write my book, I’ll put it out.”

Amaechi said his decision not to negotiate with governors and other influential party members weakened his chances, giving Tinubu an advantage in securing support ahead of the primary.

He admitted that he could have offered political positions, including the vice-presidency and Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), to influential party figures in exchange for their support.

“Now, I didn’t do deals. So I would have promised you vice-president, promised you SGF, and then would have gone for this primary, I would have possibly won. I would have had governors on my side.

“Because I didn’t do deals, Tinubu had the chance to do deals,” he said.

Amaechi Alleges Religious Mobilisation In APC Primary

The ADC vice-presidential candidate also alleged that religious considerations influenced the outcome of the 2022 APC presidential primary.

He claimed that supporters of Tinubu appealed to religious sentiments to mobilise delegates, particularly governors in the North-West.

Amaechi alleged that a group of Yoruba Muslims from the South approached governors in the region and urged them to support Tinubu on religious grounds.

He also mentioned former Kaduna State Governor, Nasir El-Rufai, whom he said initially supported his presidential ambition but later backed Tinubu.

“El-Rufai was my supporter. El-Rufai, in a viral video, said this is done for the faith,” he said.

However, Amaechi said he would not deploy religious identity to mobilise political support, arguing that such an approach could deepen divisions in the country.

He cited the Catholic community as an example, saying he would not ask the church to mobilise its members to vote for him simply because they shared the same religious identity.

“I wouldn’t want to run that kind of federation. Catholics are 35 million in Nigeria. I wouldn’t want to go to the Catholic Church and say, please announce me. Tell them that all Catholics must go out and vote Amaechi.

“It will cause confusion. It will cause problems in the country. That makes me a nationalist,” he said.

Amaechi contested the APC presidential ticket in June 2022 but lost to Tinubu, who emerged as the party’s candidate for the 2023 presidential election.