Ordinary citizens are the problem of Nigeria, says Amaechi

A former Minister of Transportation, Rotimi Amaechi, says the ordinary Nigerians should be held accountable if the nation fails to elect competent leaders in the next general elections.

According to him, the ordinary Nigerians are the real problem of the nation because they easily sell out their conscience over money.

Amaechi said delegates who sold their votes at the All Progressives Congress (APC) presidential primary are regretting their action.

The former minister polled 316 votes and came second in the election, which was won by Bola Tinubu, a former governor of Lagos, with over 1,000 votes.

Speaking over the weekend at an event to mark the 60th birthday of Eugene Ogu, general overseer of Abundant Life Evangel Mission in Port Harcourt, the Rivers State capital, Amaechi said the “ordinary” citizen remained the problem of the country.

The former minister said the prayer should be for Nigerians to vote for the right person to govern the country.

He said, “I don’t believe that is the solution to Nigeria’s problem — giving money. I hope you know. I give you N10 million now and when it finishes, what happens? The solution to Nigeria’s problem is that all of you must rise,” he said.

“God should save the ordinary Nigerian, because they are the problem. Those who voted at the APC primary, who are they? The ordinary Nigerian. The small money they got solved their immediate problems.

“Now ‘oh we made a mistake’; ‘we didn’t make a mistake’. We are hearing different things. Pray for the leadership of the country, but also pray that ordinary Nigerians choose the right person to govern.”

He also spoke on the recent concerns raised over the identity of the clerics that attended the unveiling of Kashim Shettima as the APC vice-presidential candidate.

According to the former minister, the persons in questions are Christians.

“Those bishops you saw [Kashim Shettima’s unveiling ceremony], they may not be bishops, but they are Christians,” he said.