Former Minister of Transportation and two-term Governor of Rivers State, Rt. Hon. Rotimi Amaechi has announced his resignation from the All Progressives Congress (APC), saying he was “surprised” the party had not expelled him earlier.
Amaechi made the disclosure on Wednesday during an interview at the Shehu Musa Yar’Adua Centre in Abuja, where the interim leadership of the African Democratic Congress (ADC)—the adopted platform for the 2027 opposition coalition—was officially unveiled.
According to Amaechi, he submitted his resignation letter on Tuesday night after years of staying away from APC activities.
“I left APC last night. I never attended one meeting. Last time they invited me, I warned them. I said, if you invite me to any meeting anymore… In fact, I was surprised that I wasn’t even expelled because I warned them in writing, don’t even invite me to any meeting,” he said.
Explaining his decision, the former minister said Nigeria “is completely destroyed.” He added, “People can’t eat. People can’t buy food. There’s no money to buy food. Everything is gone. Inflation is at its peak.”
He accused the APC-led federal government and the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) of conspiring to rig the next general elections. “The federal government is busy going around trying to hijack the election. INEC is helping them to hijack the election,” he alleged.
Amaechi emphasised that his move was not just about changing government but rebuilding the nation. “It’s about changing Nigeria,” he said. “What must happen here is that we must start not just a party, but a movement. It must be a movement that brings in Nigerians to, on their own, take over government—not us.”
Responding to questions about his lack of support for President Bola Tinubu’s administration, Amaechi said he never believed Tinubu had the capacity to govern. “I have never believed that Tinubu is a material to govern the country. I have never,” he declared.
“Now people want Buhari to come back,” he added. “What happens in Nigeria is that when a new government takes over, it becomes worse than the previous government. That makes people say let the previous government come back.”
“Dollar was, I think, ₦460 or ₦500 during Buhari. Now it is ₦1,580. That is more than 100 percent increase.”
On whether the exchange rate crisis was due to a deliberate policy, he said, “Whether it’s a deliberate government policy or not, any government that does not take into consideration the people you are governing is not a policy. President Tinubu said he is not here to make Nigerians happy.”
Asked whether his recent political moves reflect overambition, Amaechi replied: “I have the right to be ambitious. I am not overambitious.”
Opposition leaders, among them Atiku Abubakar, Peter Obi, Nasir El-Rufai, David Mark, and Rauf Aregbesola, are rallying around the ADC as the platform to challenge the ruling APC in the 2027 general elections.