ABUJA, NIGERIA — Vice-Presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress and former Governor of Rivers State, Rotimi Amaechi, has told leaders of the opposition party that many of them will be retired from politics if President Bola Tinubu is re-elected.
Amaechi said this on Wednesday while addressing the ADC-National Women League Conference in Abuja. He cited how the All Progressives Congress defeated the Peoples Democratic Party at the centre in 2015. He charged the women to go to their states and wards to bring in votes. He said that was the only way the ADC would defeat the APC.
A Warning to Leaders
“If you are not from FCT, go home and campaign. Me, I am going on Wednesday. I will not wear a suit. I will dress like a young man. Let me tell you what will happen. We, the crop of leaders you see here, if APC wins the 2027 elections, we are retired from politics. So if you don’t want us to retire from politics, we must go home,” Amaechi said.
Vote Targets
He urged the women to deliver two thousand votes per ward. “If you bring two thousand votes per ward, don’t win your ward. Just bring two thousand votes, we have won the election. Men are controlled by their wives. Don’t let your husbands sleep. Because if we win, you have won,” he said.
He added that the ADC would not take any election lightly. He said he would be in Kebbi, Yola, Rivers, and Delta fighting for the governorship elections. He explained that the presidential candidate cannot govern without the governors.
Learning From 2015
Amaechi said the APC used women to defeat the PDP. “When we were in APC and we wanted to remove your government, you saw what we did. We brought out the women. In every state we went to, women were in front. We spoke to them. We met with them at night. We made sure that we told them that if they did not come out to vote, we would not win. And they came out. We fought the war, and we won,” he said.
Comparing Economic Conditions
He compared the economic situation in 2015 to the present. “That time, Nigeria was not as hungry as it is now. Nigeria could afford some food, right? Now, how many of you can afford the food? How many of you can pay school fees without texting Dino or somebody else to give you some money for school fees?”
He said every week, 10 Nigerians move into poverty. He added that the number of out-of-school children has risen from 10 to 12 million in 2015 to 20 million today. He said 80 percent of those affected are from the North. He urged northerners to take the battle into their hands.
Titi Atiku’s Charge
Also speaking, Hajiya Titi Atiku Abubakar told the gathering that the time had come to work for the betterment of Nigeria. She charged the women not to be intimidated. She urged them to convince their friends, neighbours, and others to vote for the ADC.
“If you go to the market, you cannot buy anything, even medicine. Yesterday I sent them to buy medicine for me. Medicine that we used to buy for 400 is now a thousand. I couldn’t believe my eyes. So where is the money? And we are in a cashless society, where all the monies are being taken away,” she said.
She said contractors are not being paid because of the ADC. She said the party does not have money, but it must get it by force. She urged women not to let anyone buy them food. She said the party must reach all corners of Nigeria, especially the villages.
