Former Rivers State governor and former minister of transportation, Rotimi Amaechi, on Tuesday explained why he attended a protest at the National Assembly in Abuja with his son, a medical doctor.
Mr Amaechi said he brought his son along to provide medical assistance in case protesters were injured.
“The reason is that I believe there should be more Nigerians out here now. I had always told them, ‘When there’s a protest, all of us should come out,’” Amaechi told journalists.
“There are those who say that we politicians want protests, but our children are overseas. Here’s my first son; I brought him here to join. He’s a medical doctor; his job is, if there’s an injury, he should treat the injured ones.”
The former governor joined demonstrations against the Senate’s rejection of a provision mandating real-time electronic transmission of election results in the ongoing amendment of the Electoral Act.
Amaechi accused the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) of opposing electronic transmission because it fears losing elections.
“I believe that the opposition parties should come out. PDP, ADC, everybody should be out to protest against the attempt of one party,” he said.
“If we come out and they say the opposition has hijacked the protest, what is APC doing? Are they not hijacking? What are they afraid of?”
He urged Nigerians to mobilise in large numbers, saying security agencies would be deployed to manage the protest.
“Whether we like it or not, these men will bring policemen, so we must mobilise to match police for police,” Amaechi said.
“We must let them know that if they are 370,000, when they see people who have come out, they will join us.”
Amaechi argued that real-time electronic transmission of results would reduce election-related deaths.
“What is the advantage of electronic transmission? It’s that few Nigerians will die on election day,” he said.
“Every election, people are dying, while those in power are protected and elections are rigged.”
He also criticised the federal government’s response to insecurity, saying President Bola Tinubu does not prioritise citizens.
“The problem is not Akpabio; even the president doesn’t think the citizens matter,” Amaechi said.
“The only time the president reacted was when Americans spoke about killings.”
Rotimi Amaechi is the second chieftain of the coalition-led African Democratic Congress (ADC) to join the protest.
On Monday, former Anambra State governor Peter Obi also participated, calling on the National Assembly to allow real-time transmission of election results.
