late President Muhammadu Buhari and Rotimi Amaechi
"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.'"
Former Rivers State Governor Rotimi Amaechi has alleged that the late President Muhammadu Buhari promised in writing to endorse him ahead of the All Progressives Congress (APC) presidential primary in 2022 but failed to honour the commitment.
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Mr Amaechi, who finished second behind Bola Tinubu at the primary, said he relied on the assurance rather than negotiate political deals that could have strengthened his chances of securing the party’s nomination.
Speaking on Mainland 98.3 FM’s The Situation Room programme on Friday, the former transportation minister described his decision to trust Mr Buhari as his first mistake in the contest.
“The first mistake that I made at that primary was that I listened to President Buhari,” he said.
“He said to me, ‘Don’t campaign. Don’t do anything. I will announce you as my candidate.'”
Asked whether Mr Buhari had personally given him the assurance, Mr Amaechi said the former president had put it in writing.
“When I write my book, I will put it out,” he said.
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Mr Amaechi, who was Mr Buhari’s campaign director-general in the 2015 and 2023 presidential elections, did not display the document or disclose when the alleged commitment was made.
Amaechi alleges religious mobilisation for Tinubu
Mr Amaechi also accused Mr Tinubu of benefiting from appeals to religious identity during the contest.
He alleged that a delegation of Yoruba Muslims met governors in the North-west and urged them to support Mr Tinubu because of their shared faith.
According to him, the delegation argued that southern Muslims had supported northern Muslim candidates in previous elections and expected similar backing.
“Tinubu played on religion. I won’t play religious politics. I will never,” Mr Amaechi said.
He also referred to former Kaduna State Governor Nasir El-Rufai, who supported Mr Tinubu’s presidential ambition.
Mr Amaechi claimed that Mr El-Rufai had publicly linked his support for Mr Tinubu to religious considerations.
He did not identify the members of the alleged delegation or provide evidence of its discussions with the governors.
Mr Amaechi said he would not adopt a similar strategy by asking Catholic leaders to direct members of the church to support his presidential ambition.
“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,” he said.
He argued that political campaigns built around religious identity could create divisions among Nigerians.
The 2022 APC primary
Mr Tinubu defeated 13 other aspirants at the APC presidential primary held in Abuja in June 2022.
He polled 1,271 votes, while Mr Amaechi came second with 316 votes. Then Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo finished third with 235 votes.
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The primary followed weeks of uncertainty over whether Mr Buhari would openly endorse a successor.
Mr Amaechi, who served as transportation minister under Mr Buhari, resigned from the cabinet to contest the party’s presidential nomination.
Although he said the late president had advised him not to campaign, he undertook consultations with delegates and political stakeholders before the primary.
He did not explain in the interview how those consultations differed from the campaigning he said Mr Buhari had discouraged.
Mr Tinubu subsequently won the February 2023 presidential election and succeeded Mr Buhari in May of that year.