By Myke Uzendu, Abuja
Former Governor of Rivers State and presidential aspirant of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), Rotimi Amaechi, has said Nigerians should elect leaders based on competence, experience and performance rather than ethnic, religious or regional considerations.
Amaechi stated this on Thursday in Abuja shortly after submitting his presidential nomination form at the ADC national secretariat ahead of the 2027 presidential election.
The former Minister of Transportation said the forthcoming election should serve as a referendum on the performance of political leaders seeking higher office.
According to him, Nigerians should critically assess the records of all aspirants and support those with proven achievements and the capacity to govern effectively.
“I would say that what you are seeing currently is that nearly everybody who is running for the office of the president has served Nigeria in one way or another. Let this be a referendum,” Amaechi said.
“If you have performed, whoever has outperformed the other, vote for the person. The next thing is who is capable of delivering the votes? Who is capable of beating the incumbent? Who has the experience?”
The former Rivers governor said he remained convinced that he possesses the necessary experience and leadership capacity required to lead the country.
“I believe I am the most experienced. I am young, I am the most experienced, and I believe I have the capacity,” he said.
Amaechi urged Nigerians to assess his performance both as governor and as Minister of Transportation, insisting that his record in public service demonstrated his ability to transform the country.
“Go back to Rivers State and see what I have done. Go back to the Ministry of Transportation and see what I have done and assess it and see whether I can turn the country around. And I will, in four years, turn the country around,” he added.
He also advised Nigerians against voting along ethnic and regional lines, warning that such sentiments had contributed to the country’s current challenges.
“Nigerians should vote for merit but not vote for those who say, ‘I’m from this place’ or ‘I’m from that place,’ or ‘vote for me because my people have not been voted for before,’ or ‘it’s our turn,’” he stated.
He criticised politics based on entitlement and zoning narratives, arguing that governance should focus on the welfare of citizens rather than sectional interests.
“It is ‘our turn’ that brought us here. It is the turn of Nigerians,” Amaechi said.
“There is no market for Christians, neither is there a market for Muslims or a market for northerners or southerners. The market has only one purpose — the naira.”
The ADC presidential aspirant also criticised the administration of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, blaming current economic challenges on government policies.
“Nigerians are suffering. They are suffering. The current president has put us in this suffering,” he said.
On the party’s primary election process, Amaechi expressed support for a direct contest but said he would accept a consensus arrangement if it favoured him.
“I’m going for primary. If the consensus is me, fine. But if it’s not me, I’m going for primary,” he said.
