Amaechi counters Tinubu’s claim on Buhari’s 2015 victory

Former Minister of Transportation, Rotimi Amaechi, has challenged claims by President Bola Tinubu that he single-handedly secured the victory of late former President Muhammadu Buhari in the 2015 presidential election.

Amaechi said Buhari’s emergence as president was the result of collective efforts by members of the All Progressives Congress, stressing that he personally played a significant role in mobilising political support nationwide.

Tinubu had, during his 2023 presidential campaign, declared that he was instrumental in Buhari’s victory in 2015, insisting at the time that it was his turn to lead the country.

Speaking during an interview on Arise Television on Friday, Amaechi explained that he could not openly challenge Tinubu’s assertion while serving in Buhari’s administration because such a move could have jeopardised his position as minister.

“When we decided to form the APC, while I was a minister, President Tinubu was claiming he made Buhari president, and I couldn’t respond because I was a minister under President Buhari,” Amaechi said.

“That would have been suicidal because Buhari could fire you. I couldn’t have said no then. He wasn’t the president. I couldn’t tell him, ‘You are wrong. You didn’t make President Buhari president.’

“Not only was I the DG of the campaign, but everybody will bear witness that I did all the battle.”

Amaechi noted that he spearheaded extensive political mobilisation efforts in his capacity as chairman of the Nigeria Governors’ Forum and as director-general of Buhari’s presidential campaign.

He added that although the APC came to power in 2015 on the promise of “change,” the administration recorded mixed results while in office.

The former Rivers State governor also dismissed speculations that he is seeking a vice-presidential slot, insisting that his ambition remains focused on the presidency amid ongoing discussions surrounding the presidential ticket of the African Democratic Congress ahead of

the 2027 elections.