Amaechi: I ‘technically resigned’ from Buhari’s govt over unmet expectations

Former Rivers State Governor and former Minister of Transportation, Rotimi Amaechi, has recounted how he gradually withdrew from the (late) Muhammadu Buhari administration after becoming dissatisfied with the direction of the government.

Mr Amaechi said he eventually sought Mr Buhari’s permission to return to university while still serving as minister of transportation, an arrangement that saw him report to the ministry only on Wednesdays.

He disclosed this during an interview on AIT on Wednesday night, while reflecting on his time in the Buhari administration and his political journey ahead of the 2027 presidential election.

Excerpts of the interview is posted on Facebook.

According to Mr Amaechi, he first confronted President Buhari privately after becoming concerned that the administration was not living up to the expectations that brought it to power.

He said he reminded the then-president that Nigerians who voted for the All Progressives Congress (APC) in 2015 had expected the president to govern like the Buhari of 1983.

“Mr President, you recall that when people were voting for us, they thought they were voting for the Buhari of 1983? Mr President, are we keeping to that expectation?” Mr Amaechi quoted himself as asking.

He said Mr Buhari responded that the circumstances were different from those of 1983, noting that he was younger at the time and was leading a military government without a parliament.

Mr Amaechi said he later returned to the president and sought permission to attend university.

“The next day, I went back to Mr President and asked, ‘Can I go to the university?’ He said, ‘Yes.’”

He explained that his application stated that he would not be in the office on Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays.

“That’s technically resigning from government. The only day I came to the office was Wednesdays,” he said.

Amaechi’s role in Buhari’s rise

Mr Amaechi was not a peripheral figure in the political movement that brought Mr Buhari to power in 2015.

He was a two-term speaker of the Rivers State House of Assembly between 1999 and 2007 before becoming governor, a position he held from 2007 to 2015. He also chaired the Nigeria Governors’ Forum between 2011 and 2013.

His political relationship with the PDP deteriorated during the administration of former President Goodluck Jonathan. Mr Amaechi subsequently defected to the APC, joining other governors and opposition politicians in the coalition that formed the party ahead of the 2015 election.

The APC later appointed Mr Amaechi director-general of its presidential campaign organisation for the 2015 election. In that role, he coordinated the campaign that defeated the incumbent PDP in the 2015 presidential election, marking the first time an opposition party displaced a governing party at the federal level through an election.

Following Mr Buhari’s victory, Mr Amaechi joined his cabinet as transportation minister and remained in the cabinet until May 2022.

As minister, Mr Amaechi became one of the most prominent members of Mr Buhari’s cabinet, particularly through the administration’s railway development programme. Mr Buhari, at the time, described the transformation of the transport sector as part of the legacy of his administration.

From Buhari loyalist to presidential contender

Mr Amaechi eventually resigned from Mr Buhari’s cabinet in May 2022 after declaring his intention to contest the APC presidential primary for the 2023 election. He finished second behind Bola Tinubu at the party’s primary.

His latest account of his relationship with Mr Buhari comes as Mr Amaechi campaigns for the 2027 election on the ADC platform.

READ ALSO: 2027: Amaechi admits opposition coalition is difficult, blames personal ambitions

The former governor initially contested the ADC presidential primary but finished behind former Vice President Atiku Abubakar. He was subsequently selected as Atiku’s running mate for the 2027 presidential election.

Mr Amaechi’s latest comments therefore place his account of his experience under Mr Buhari within the broader political contest ahead of 2027, when the former minister will campaign against the APC administration in which he previously served.