A former Governor of Rivers State, Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi, has dismissed claims by President Bola Tinubu that he made the late Muhammadu Buhari president, insisting that he (Amaechi) played the central role in securing Buhari’s victory in the 2015 election.
Amaechi, who is among the presidential hopefuls of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), made the remarks during an interview on Arise TV late Friday.
The former Minister of Transportation said he could not openly challenge Tinubu’s claim while serving in Buhari’s administration because doing so could have endangered his position as a minister.
Amaechi maintained that he was deeply involved in the formation and success of the All Progressives Congress (APC), stressing that he served as director-general of Buhari’s presidential campaign and led several political efforts across the country ahead of the 2015 election.
According to him, he spearheaded nationwide mobilisation and worked closely with governors to convince Nigerians that the country needed political change at the time.
He said, “When we decided to form the APC, you know, 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. That would be suicidal because Buhari could fire you. So I couldn’t have said no that you are wrong, you didn’t make President Buhari president.
“Not only was I the DG of the campaign, but everybody would bear witness that I did all the battles. I led the governors’ forum, I crisscrossed the country fighting here and there, trying to get Nigerians to know that this is a time for change.”