Former Minister of Transportation Rotimi Amaechi has revealed that he lost the 2022 All Progressives Congress (APC) presidential primary because he followed the advice of late President Muhammadu Buhari not to campaign ahead of the contest.
Speaking during an interview on Mainland 98.3FM’s The Situation Room in Lagos on Friday, Amaechi claimed that Buhari assured him in writing that he would be publicly endorsed as his preferred successor. Relying on this assurance, the former Rivers State governor refrained from lobbying delegates and negotiating political alliances.
The Cost of Trusting an Endorsement
Reflecting on the June 2022 primary at Eagle Square—where President Bola Tinubu clinched the ticket with 1,271 votes to Amaechi’s 316—Amaechi admitted that trusting his former boss was his biggest political miscalculation.
”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 stated.
He explained that because he avoided horse-trading, he missed out on securing crucial backing from state governors. By contrast, he noted, President Tinubu capitalized on the opening to forge strategic political deals, offering key positions such as the vice-presidency and the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF).
Accusations of Identity Politics
Amaechi also alleged that his opponents leveraged religious sentiments to sway delegates, particularly across the North-West. He cited former Kaduna State Governor Nasir El-Rufai, claiming that despite initial backing for his presidential bid, El-Rufai eventually supported Tinubu along religious lines.
Contrasting his strategy with identity-based campaigning, Amaechi portrayed himself as a nationalist who refused to exploit religion for electoral advantage.
”Catholics are 35 million in Nigeria. I wouldn’t want to go to the Catholic Church and say, please announce me… It will cause confusion and problems in the country. That makes me a nationalist,” he said.
Amaechi, who previously served as the director-general of Buhari’s successful 2015 presidential campaign, has since shifted political alliances. He is currently the vice-presidential candidate to former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar under the banner of the African Democratic Congress (ADC) for the upcoming 2027 general elections.
