Former Minister of Transportation, Rt. Hon. Rotimi Amaechi, on Wednesday, announced his resignation from the All Progressives Congress (APC), declaring that Nigeria is in a dire state and requires sweeping change, not just in government but in national direction.
Speaking in Abuja at the unveiling of the interim executive of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), Amaechi didn’t mince words about the country’s condition and blamed both the ruling party and the electoral commission for deepening Nigeria’s woes.
“Nigeria is completely destroyed. People can’t eat. People can’t buy food. There’s no money to buy food. Everything is gone. Inflation is at its peak. And the federal government is busy going around trying to hijack the election. INEC is helping them to hijack the election,” Amaechi said in a charged media interview shortly after the event.
He further stated that the change Nigeria needs goes beyond replacing one administration with another. According to him, what the country requires is a citizen-led movement, not just another political party.
“No, it’s not about changing the government, if it is about changing the government, there is no need of changing the government, it’s about changing Nigeria,” he said. “No, no, no. What must happen here is that we must start not just a party, but a movement, it must be a movement that brings in Nigerians to on their own take over government, not us.”
Amaechi, who served as a governor of Rivers State and was once a key figure in the APC’s national campaigns, revealed that he officially quit the party on Tuesday night. He expressed surprise that he hadn’t already been expelled, citing his earlier refusal to participate in party activities.
“I left APC last night. I never attended one meeting, last time they invited me I warned them. I said, if you invite me to any meeting anymore… In fact, I was surprised that I wasn’t even expelled because I warned them in writing, don’t even invite me to any meeting. You can’t be in a club where majority of people are stealing and you don’t say anything,” he explained.
When asked why he didn’t throw his support behind President Bola Tinubu’s administration, Amaechi offered a scathing assessment of the president’s leadership.
“I have never believed that Tinubu is a material to govern the country, I have never, because now, people want (Muhammadu) Buhari to come back. What happens in Nigeria is that when a new government takes over, it becomes worse than the previous government that makes people say let the previous government come back,” he said.
“People are asking for Buhari because things were better during Buhari’s administration. Dollar was I think ₦460 or five hundred and something now a dollar is one thousand five hundred and eighty, that is more than one hundred percent.”
Asked to respond to the suggestion that the currency exchange rate may be part of a broader economic policy, Amaechi dismissed any justification that ignores public welfare.
“Whether it’s a deliberate government policy or not, any government that does not take into consideration the people you are governing is not a policy. President Tinubu said he is not here to make Nigerians happy,” he stated.
When questioned if his strong criticisms stemmed from political ambition, Amaechi stood firm. “I have the right to be ambitious, I am not over ambitious,” he concluded.
