Vice-presidential candidate of the Africa Democratic Congress (ADC), Rotimi Amaechi, has urged opposition parties to unite ahead of the 2027 general election if they must stop the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) party from continuing to hold power.
Amaechi spoke while receiving a faction of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), led by Kabiru Tanimu Turaki, SAN, on a condolence visit over the death of his mother, Dame Ezinne Mary Amaechi.
Amaechi, however, urged opposition parties to close ranks, warning that disunity would make it easier for the APC to retain power.
He said cooperation among opposition parties remained the only realistic path to defeating the APC and voting out the President Bola Tinubu administration.
Amaechi urged opposition leaders to continue exploring areas of cooperation as the election approached.
He warned that failure to unite behind a common objective could give the ruling party an easy route to victory.
According to him, opposition parties must place the interests of Nigeria and its citizens above individual political ambitions and partisan differences.
He maintained that a fragmented opposition would weaken efforts to challenge the APC at the polls.
During the visit, Amaechi also reflected on the sacrifices made by his parents, particularly his mother, in raising him and his siblings.
He described her support and commitment to the family as central to his upbringing and development.
The Turaki-led PDP faction, in a statement by its Publicity Secretary, IniEmemobong, said Dame Amaechi’s death was a major loss and offered sympathy to Amaechi’s family.
He said the pain of losing a mother was difficult to prepare for and assured Amaechi of the party’s sympathy.
“Nothing prepares anybody for the loss of a parent, especially a mother. So, we can only imagine the deep loss and grief that you and your family are going through,” he said.
The faction also recalled Amaechi’s years in the PDP, during which he served as Speaker of the Rivers State House of Assembly and later governor of the state.
“As a party on whose platform you served the good people of Rivers State as Speaker and later as governor, we share in your grief and encourage you to be strong, knowing the certainty of death and its role as a window to immortality,” Turaki added.
