Former Rivers State governor Rotimi Amaechi says no one has approached him about becoming the vice-presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress (ADC) following the party’s presidential primary.
Amaechi spoke during an interview with media entrepreneur Chude Jideonwo on the programme #WithChude, days after rejecting the outcome of the ADC presidential primary.
“I stand by what I said about ‘concocted results’,” Amaechi said. “But I am still a member of ADC. No one has asked me to be VP.”
The former minister of transportation had criticised the conduct of the party’s presidential primary after former Vice President Atiku Abubakar emerged as the ADC presidential candidate for the 2027 election.
Atiku defeated Amaechi and businessman Mohammed Hayatu-Deen in the party’s presidential primary election conducted through the Option A4 voting system.
The party said Atiku polled 1,846,370 votes to beat Amaechi, who polled 504,117 votes, while Hayatu-Deen got 177,120 votes.
Amaechi, who marked his 61st birthday on Wednesday, also spoke about Nigerian politics and his relationships with political figures including Atiku, Peter Obi, David Mark, Nyesom Wike and former President Goodluck Jonathan.
He also discussed his friendship with Nobel laureate Wole Soyinka and described former president Olusegun Obasanjo as Nigeria’s greatest leader despite what he called a “messiah complex.”
Amaechi disclosed during the interview that he left the administration of former President Muhammadu Buhari before the end of its tenure and said Buhari eventually became overwhelmed by the demands of office.
“People say politicians lie, but I don’t lie,” he said. “My record speaks for me.”
Amaechi has remained a prominent figure in Nigerian politics for three decades.
His political career began during the transition to the Third Republic when he served as secretary of the National Republican Convention (NRC) in Ikwerre Local Government Area of Rivers State.
Between 1992 and 1994, he worked as special assistant to former Rivers State deputy governor Peter Odili, who identified him early as a young politician with leadership potential and mentored him in public service.
In 1996, Amaechi served as secretary of the Rivers State caretaker committee of the Democratic Party of Nigeria during the transition programme of former military ruler Sani Abacha.
He later became speaker of the Rivers State House of Assembly from 1999 to 2007 before serving as governor of Rivers State between 2007 and 2015.
Amaechi later served as minister of transportation under Buhari from 2015 to 2022.
Amaechi contested the presidential primary of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in 2022 before later joining the ADC ahead of the 2027 election.
