Former Minister of Transportation, Rotimi Amaechi, has said he regrets following the advice of late President Muhammadu Buhari during the All Progressives Congress presidential primary in 2022, claiming Buhari had promised to make him the party’s candidate.
Amaechi said Buhari advised him against campaigning or negotiating with delegates ahead of the primary, assuring him that he would announce him as his preferred candidate.
He made this known during an interview on Mainland 98.3FM’s The Situation Room programme in Lagos on Friday.
According to the former Rivers State governor, he lost the opportunity to secure the party’s ticket because he relied on Buhari’s assurance instead of engaging in the political negotiations that could have earned him support from delegates and governors.
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 admitted that he did not negotiate with other aspirants or make political agreements that could have helped him secure votes at the primary.
He argued that he might have won the contest if he had offered political positions, including the vice-presidential slot and Secretary to the Government of the Federation, to secure the support of influential party members.
“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.
The African Democratic Congress vice-presidential candidate also alleged that religion played a role in the 2022 APC presidential primary, claiming that supporters of President Bola Tinubu appealed to delegates in the North to back him on religious grounds.
He said a group of Yoruba Muslims from the South approached governors in the North-West and urged them to support Tinubu because of their shared religious identity.
Amaechi also mentioned former Kaduna State Governor, Nasir El-Rufai, whom he claimed 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.
Despite his claims, Amaechi said he would not mobilise political support along religious lines, arguing that such an approach could deepen divisions in the country.
He maintained that political leaders should promote national unity rather than encourage Nigerians to vote for candidates because they belong to the same religious group.
“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.
Amaechi contested against Tinubu and other aspirants at the APC presidential primary held at Eagle Square, Abuja, in June 2022.
Tinubu won the contest with 1,271 votes, while Amaechi came second with 316 votes.
