How Buhari’s Promise Cost Me 2022 APC Presidential Ticket – Amaechi

Former Minister of Transportation, Rotimi Amaechi, has blamed his defeat in the 2022 All Progressives Congress (APC) presidential primary on his decision to follow the advice of the late President Muhammadu Buhari, who allegedly promised to make him the party’s preferred candidate.

Amaechi said Buhari assured him that he would announce him as his preferred successor and instructed him not to campaign or engage in political negotiations ahead of the party’s presidential primary.

The former Rivers State governor disclosed this during an interview on Mainland 98.3FM’s The Situation Room programme in Lagos on Friday.

According to Amaechi, trusting Buhari’s assurance was the biggest mistake he made during the contest, as it prevented him from building the political alliances and securing the support of influential party stakeholders needed to win the ticket.

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 explained that he obeyed Buhari because the former president was his boss and believed his endorsement would give him an advantage over other presidential aspirants.

He said his decision not to negotiate political positions with governors and other influential APC members weakened his chances, giving President Bola Tinubu an opportunity to build alliances ahead of the primary.

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The ADC vice-presidential candidate admitted that he could have offered influential party figures political positions, including the vice-presidency and Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), 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 also alleged that religious considerations played a role in Tinubu’s emergence as the APC presidential candidate in 2022.

He claimed that a delegation of Yoruba Muslims from the South-West approached governors in the North-West and appealed to them to support Tinubu on religious grounds.

According to him, the delegation argued that northern Muslims had supported southern Christian candidates in previous elections and should reciprocate by backing Tinubu, who is also a Muslim.

Amaechi further 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 maintained that he would not exploit religious identity to mobilise political support, insisting that doing so could deepen divisions in the country.

He cited the Catholic community as an example, arguing that he would not approach the church to direct 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.

At the APC presidential primary held at Eagle Square, Abuja, on June 8, 2022, Tinubu defeated 13 other aspirants to secure the party’s ticket for the 2023 presidential election.

Tinubu polled 1,271 votes, while Amaechi finished second with 316 votes. Former Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo came third with 235 votes, while former Senate President Ahmad Lawan secured 152 votes.

Amaechi, who resigned as Minister of Transportation to pursue his presidential ambition, had previously served as Director-General of Buhari’s 2015 presidential campaign and was one of the prominent members of the former president’s administration.

He is now the running mate to former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar on the African Democratic Congress (ADC) platform ahead of the 2027 presidential election.

Amaechi said he intends to make public the alleged written assurance from Buhari when he publishes his memoir. He did not present the document during the interview.