•Amaechi and Tinubu
A former governor of Rivers State, Rotimi Amaechi, has blamed President Bola Tinubu’s government for the state of the economy, saying the current leadership “buried” it.
“The current government has completely buried the economy. Any economy that does not put money in the pockets of individuals in Nigeria is not an economic policy,” Amaechi said on Channels TV last night.
“You’re making savings from removing the subsidy, from floating the naira — where is the money? Where is it going?”
Tinubu, upon assumption of office in 2023, removed the subsidy on petroleum and thereafter floated the country’s currency. Those twin decisions have triggered a high cost of living in the country.
Weighing in on the state of the economy, Amaechi accused Tinubu’s government of pushing more Nigerians into poverty.
“We have a situation where only members of this government are in the rich class. The middle class has vanished, and the poor are increasing,” he said.
“At this rate, a time will come when we won’t even see the poor anymore — they’ll have all died.”
Amaechi is part of the coalition under the African Democratic Congress (ADC) planning to unseat the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) in the 2027 election.
When asked if he would do a single term if he were to be the candidate of the newly floated ADC in 2027, he said, “Of course. I told you. You know that I speak my mind.”
“If I won’t do more than four years, I would say that. If I were to do more than four years, I would say I would do more than four,” he said.
Nigeria practises an unwritten power-sharing deal between the North and South, rotating the presidency among the two major blocs.
The former minister recalled how he fought for the return of power to the North in 2015, saying he believes in power sharing between the two major regions of the country.
“I led the fight against the PDP government. Why? Because there was an agreement that the government at that time would spend four years. But after four years, the government reneged on it, and I said no, that would be unfair.
That will be instability at its peak because the North will react. So, the best thing to do is what? It is to support a northern candidate to maintain the balance of power.”
