Rotimi Amaechi Criticizes Tinubu’s Leadership Capacity and Calls for Political Change

At a public lecture commemorating his 60th birthday in Abuja, former Minister of Transportation, Rotimi Amaechi, openly declared his refusal to support or collaborate with President Bola Tinubu, citing concerns over Tinubu’s capacity to govern Nigeria effectively.

Amaechi recounted a conversation with Tinubu in Yola, stating, “I told Tinubu in Yola, I will not support you; I will not work for you. I did not work for him; I did not vote for him. It was the issue of capacity.”

He criticized the prevalent practice of voting based on ethnic and religious affiliations, emphasizing that such tendencies have led to the current state of the nation. He remarked, “Some of us who are here are also those who vote on an ethnic or religious basis. Innocent, uneducated people are manipulated to vote based on ethnicity and religion—that’s why we are here.”

Highlighting the government’s approach to poverty, Amaechi accused the administration of weaponizing poverty by misappropriating funds meant for essential services. He stated, “They are weaponising poverty by stealing the money they should have used to build hospitals and schools. The benefit of the fuel subsidy removal is in their pockets.”

Expressing his disillusionment with the current leadership, Amaechi called for collective action to address the nation’s challenges. He asserted, “For us in opposition, if you want us to remove this man, we can remove this man from power. We want to submit to the opposition if the opposition will take us out of this problem.”