Former Rivers Governor Rotimi Amaechi calls for mass voter participation, warns that complacency and opposition disunity could hand President Tinubu a second term.
Former Rivers State Governor and African Democratic Congress (ADC) chieftain, Rotimi Amaechi, has urged Nigerians to participate actively in the 2027 presidential election to prevent President Bola Tinubu from securing a second term in office.
Amaechi, who declared his 2027 presidential ambition in August, made the statement during his goodwill message at the fifth anniversary lecture of First Daily newspaper held in Abuja on Monday. The event, chaired by former Bayelsa State Governor Seriake Dickson, had as its theme: “2027: How Can We Make Our Votes Count?”
Citing President Tinubu’s loss in Lagos State during the 2023 general elections, Amaechi argued that the president is not unbeatable and that Nigerians must resist apathy and complacency.
“The first solution to electoral reform is not the government. The people are the problem. The more you say they have written the results, the more you have voter apathy. Voter apathy will make President Bola Tinubu return to Villa,” Amaechi warned.
He added: “Tell the people the power is in your hands. Come out. If Tinubu is that invincible, how was he defeated in Lagos? It can be repeated, but first and foremost, you must agree that the man there is not invincible. The problem is the opposition.”
The former Minister of Transportation also dismissed the likelihood of genuine electoral reform under any sitting government, asserting that reforms are rarely driven by incumbents.
“There is no incumbent government that can achieve electoral reform. None. We already tried it and failed,” he stated.
Amaechi further criticized opposition parties for their failure to unite or craft a coherent political strategy capable of challenging the ruling elite effectively.
“I tell the opposition parties that you’re the problem. The opposition party is not discussing how to save Nigeria. Nobody is saying, ‘Oh, things are bad, how do we change the candidate?’” he said.
In his opening remarks, event chairman Seriake Dickson described election rigging as “the worst coup” against democracy, stressing that it erodes the constitutional sovereignty of the people.
“We have a long way to go as far as protecting the sovereignty that our constitution says belongs to the people because the only time Nigerians express that sovereignty is during elections. Rigging of elections is the worst coup you can plan,” Dickson declared.
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