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The African Democratic Congress (ADC) vice-presidential candidate, Rotimi Amaechi, has revealed that following a private directive from the late former President Muhammadu Buhari cost him the 2022 All Progressives Congress (APC) presidential ticket.
Speaking during an interview on Mainland 98.3FM’s The Situation Room on Friday, the former Minister of Transportation disclosed that Buhari explicitly instructed him not to campaign, promising in writing to designate him as his preferred successor.
“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.
Amaechi explained that relying on Buhari’s commitment prevented him from negotiating political concessions, vice-presidential commitments, or Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF) slots with state governors—giving candidate Bola Ahmed Tinubu room to secure vital alliances ahead of the vote.
“Because I didn’t do deals, Tinubu had the chance to do deals,” Amaechi noted, adding that Tinubu polled 1,271 votes against his 316 votes at the June 2022 APC primary at Eagle Square, Abuja.
The former Rivers State governor also accused the Tinubu campaign of leveraging religious appeals to sway northern delegates, referencing comments by former Kaduna State Governor Nasir El-Rufai.
“El-Rufai was my supporter. El-Rufai, in a viral video, said this is done for the faith,” Amaechi observed, asserting that he deliberately refused to use his Catholic identity to mobilize voters to avoid deepening sectarian divisions in Nigeria.
Amaechi, who served as Director-General of Buhari’s victorious 2015 presidential campaign, has since parted ways with the ruling party and currently serves as running mate to former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar on the ADC platform ahead of the 2027 general elections.
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