A former Minister of Transportation, Rotimi Amaechi, has dismissed suggestions that he entered the presidential race under the African Democratic Congress (ADC) to emerge as a vice presidential candidate, insisting that he purchased the party’s nomination form solely to contest for the presidency.
Amaechi, and ex-governor of Rivers state, stated this during an interview on Trust TV, amid growing speculation over possible consensus arrangements within the ADC ahead of the party’s presidential primary scheduled for May 25, 2026.
Responding sharply to suggestions that he could eventually pair with former Vice President, Atiku Abubakar, on a joint ticket, Amaechi said: “Please stop that. I didn’t buy the ADC presidential ticket to become Vice President.”
The former minister stressed that his focus remained on securing the party’s presidential ticket and leading the ADC into the 2027 general election. According to him, discussions around consensus should only be entertained if all aspirants willingly agree, warning that the party must avoid imposing candidates.
“If you don’t agree, then primary. I don’t have any other answer to give you,” he said, while maintaining that a transparent primary election remains the best democratic option if consultations fail.
Amaechi also expressed confidence in his chances of defeating Atiku for the ADC ticket, arguing that although the former vice president had consistently emerged victorious in party primaries over the years, he had failed repeatedly to convert those victories into electoral success at the presidential level.
“I listened when the former vice president said he never failed a primary before. I hope this will be the first time he will fail in primary,” Amaechi stated.
“The issue is that at all times that you have passed the primary, you have not won an election. So it’s about electability,” he pointed out.
Amaechi argued that his own candidacy could offer Nigerians a fresh alternative since he had never previously contested a presidential election. “I’ve never run. If nothing else, I can argue that I’ve never run any presidential election,” he said.
Despite his criticism of Atiku’s electoral record, Amaechi praised both the former vice president and former Labour Party (LP) presidential candidate, Peter Obi, saying they would perform better in office than President Bola Tinubu.
“If you give this country to Vice President Atiku to govern, I believe he would do well, just as I think Governor Obi would do well. Honestly, both of them would do better than President Tinubu,” he said.
Amaechi also accused Tinubu of encouraging ethnic considerations in governance, contrasting the current administration with that of former President Olusegun Obasanjo, whom he described as “a huge nationalist.”
“He’s a Nigerian president. He’s not a Yoruba president,” Amaechi said in reference to Obasanjo.
On the issue of zoning and power rotation, Amaechi said he supported the principle because Nigeria was still struggling with national cohesion and inclusiveness.
“The answer is yes and no. Yes in the sense that the country, for now, is yet to be found as a united entity,” he explained.
The former Rivers governor also spoke extensively on insecurity and feelings of marginalisation across parts of the country, particularly in the South-east, warning that all regions must be given a genuine sense of belonging within the federation.
“If they have to be in Nigeria, then they must be part of Nigeria. They must have a sense of belonging that they are Nigerians,” he stated.
Amaechi further said his administration, if elected president, would focus on national integration, education, equal opportunities and addressing regional grievances, while promising to tackle the worsening insecurity across the country.
Meanwhile, a chieftain of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Umar Sani, has insisted that former President, Goodluck Jonathan, has already obtained the party’s presidential nomination form ahead of the 2027 general election.
Sani, who served as Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity to former Vice President, Namadi Sambo, made the disclosure during an appearance on Trust TV Tuesday.
His remarks come amid renewed political consultations involving Jonathan, fuelling speculation that the former president may be considering a return to partisan politics nearly 12 years after leaving office.
Although Jonathan has yet to publicly declare his ambition or confirm the political platform on which he may contest, Sani maintained that the former president’s actions already indicated strong interest in the race.
According to him, political actions speak louder than public declarations, stressing that Jonathan had gone beyond consultations by allegedly obtaining the necessary nomination documents.
“The issue is not about whether we will extract commitment from him. What is most important in politics is action. If your action suggests you are interested, there are certain actions to follow, one of which is the procurement of the nomination form.
“He has procured the nomination form. In fact, he is about to come and submit the forms publicly,” Sani said.
The PDP stalwart dismissed suggestions that the party or Jonathan’s supporters were merely using the former president’s name to regain political relevance, insisting that many Nigerians still hold positive memories of his administration. According to him, the current state of the country has led many citizens to reassess Jonathan’s tenure more favourably.
“Most Nigerians know him and are nostalgic about Jonathan. At the time he left office, many people felt the PDP was not performing, but now Nigerians have seen the difference clearly,” he added.
Sani also expressed confidence that the legal challenge against Jonathan’s eligibility to seek the presidency again would fail, arguing that the issue had already been settled judicially.
“We are very confident that the matter will be thrown out because you cannot relitigate something that has already been decided upon.”
Emmanuel Addeh and Sunday Ehigiator
