How Buhari’s Assurance Cost Me APC Presidential Ticket – Amaechi

Former Minister of Transportation and chieftain of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), Rotimi Amaechi, has blamed his defeat in the 2022 All Progressives Congress (APC) presidential primary on his decision to heed the advice of the late President Muhammadu Buhari not to campaign ahead of the contest.

Amaechi said Buhari had given him a written assurance that he would be announced as his preferred successor, a development that made him suspend efforts to lobby delegates and build political alliances ahead of the primary.

The former Rivers State governor disclosed this during an interview on The Situation Room, a programme on Mainland 98.3FM in Lagos, on Friday, while recounting how he lost the APC presidential ticket to Bola Tinubu.

According to him, he trusted Buhari’s assurance because the former president was his boss and believed that his endorsement would give him an advantage in the contest.

Amaechi 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.”

The ADC chieftain also attributed his failure to secure the party’s ticket to his unwillingness to enter into political agreements with governors and other influential party leaders in exchange for their support.

He admitted that offering key political positions, including the vice-presidency and Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), could have helped him secure the backing of more delegates and governors.

Amaechi said he had declined to engage in such negotiations, while suggesting that Tinubu’s willingness to strike political deals gave the eventual winner an advantage.

“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.

He further accused Tinubu of exploiting religious sentiments to garner support among delegates, particularly in the northern part of the country.