Former Rivers State Governor and former Minister of Transportation, Rotimi Amaechi, has shared how he slowly distanced himself from the late Muhammadu Buhari's government after he became unhappy with its direction.
Amaechi said he eventually asked Buhari for permission to go back to school while still being the transportation minister. This arrangement allowed him to only report to the ministry on Wednesdays.
He spoke about this during an interview on AIT on Wednesday night, reflecting on his time in the Buhari government and his political plans ahead of the 2027 presidential election.
Parts of the interview are posted on Facebook.
Amaechi explained that he first addressed President Buhari in private after he became worried that the government was not meeting the expectations that led to its election.
He reminded the former president that Nigerians who voted for the All Progressives Congress (APC) in 2015 thought they were voting for 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?" Amaechi quoted himself asking.
Buhari replied that the situation was different from 1983, noting that he was younger back then and was leading a military government without a parliament.
Amaechi later went back to the president to ask for 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 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
Amaechi played a significant role in the political movement that brought Buhari to power in 2015.
He was a two-term speaker of the Rivers State House of Assembly from 1999 to 2007 before becoming governor, a role he held from 2007 to 2015. He also led the Nigeria Governors’ Forum from 2011 to 2013.
His political relationship with the PDP soured during former President Goodluck Jonathan's administration. Amaechi then switched to the APC, joining other governors and opposition leaders in forming the party before the 2015 election.
The APC later named Amaechi as the director-general of its presidential campaign for the 2015 election. In that role, he ran the campaign that beat the sitting PDP in the presidential election, marking the first time an opposition party won against a ruling party at the federal level through an election.
After Buhari's victory, Amaechi became part of his cabinet as transportation minister and stayed in that position until May 2022.
As minister, Amaechi was one of the most visible members of Buhari’s cabinet, especially through the government’s railway development program. Buhari described the changes in the transport sector as part of his administration's legacy.
From Buhari Loyalist to Presidential Contender
Amaechi eventually resigned from Buhari’s cabinet in May 2022 after he announced his intention to run for the APC presidential primary for the 2023 election. He came in second to Bola Tinubu at the party’s primary.
His recent comments about his relationship with Buhari come as he campaigns for the 2027 election on the ADC platform.
The former governor initially ran in the ADC presidential primary but finished behind former Vice President Atiku Abubakar. He was later chosen as Atiku’s running mate for the 2027 presidential election.
Amaechi’s latest statements place his experience under Buhari within the larger political contest as he prepares to campaign against the APC government he once served.
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