Why Buhari Didn’t Back Amaechi For APC Ticket, Says Ex-Aide

A former Special Assistant on New Media to late President Muhammadu Buhari, Bashir Ahmad, has explained why the former president did not openly support Rotimi Amaechi’s ambition to emerge as the All Progressives Congress (APC) presidential candidate in the 2023 general election.

Ahmad said Buhari believed in allowing the party’s democratic process to operate independently and rarely interfered in presidential primaries to impose his preferred candidates.

He stated this while reacting to Amaechi’s claim that Buhari had promised him the APC presidential ticket ahead of the party’s 2022 presidential primary.

In a statement shared on his social media pages, Ahmad described Amaechi’s revelation as shocking, saying it was inconsistent with what many people knew about Buhari’s political principles and character.

According to him, the late president often chose to remain neutral during party primaries, even when he had a preferred candidate.

“This is why Rotimi Amaechi’s recent revelations would come as a shock and surprise to many who knew President Buhari, his principles and his political character,” Ahmad said.

He expressed hope that people with greater knowledge of the circumstances surrounding the alleged promise would come forward to clarify the matter and protect Buhari’s reputation.

“I sincerely hope those with greater knowledge and privileged information will come forward to clarify these allegations and help protect the reputation of our late boss, whom we all knew as a man who stood firmly by his word and would never deliberately betray his promises,” he said.

Ahmad further recalled Buhari’s famous political position, saying, “He was indeed for everybody and he was for nobody.”

Amaechi, a former Minister of Transportation and ex-Governor of Rivers State, was among the aspirants who contested the APC presidential ticket in 2022. The party eventually chose Bola Tinubu, who went on to win the 2023 presidential election.