Former Minister of Transportation and ex-Governor of Rivers State, Rt. Hon. Rotimi Amaechi, has officially resigned from the All Progressives Congress (APC), declaring that Nigeria is in a state of total collapse and urgently needs a complete overhaul, not just a change in government.
Speaking in Abuja on Wednesday during the unveiling of the interim executive committee of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), Amaechi painted a grim picture of the country’s current state, citing extreme inflation, widespread hunger, and alleged political manipulation of the electoral system.
According to Amaechi, “Nigeria is completely destroyed. People can’t eat. People can’t buy food. There’s no money to buy food. Everything is gone. Inflation is at its peak. And the federal government is busy going around trying to hijack the election. INEC is helping them to hijack the election.”
He emphasized that his aim wasn’t merely about removing those in power but about launching a new national direction.
“No, it’s not about changing the government, if it is about changing the government, there is no need of changing the government, 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.”
Amaechi confirmed he tendered his resignation from the APC the night before, revealing he had long distanced himself from party 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. You can’t be in a club where majority of people are stealing and you don’t say anything,” he stated.
When asked why he wasn’t backing the current administration under President Bola Tinubu, Amaechi responded bluntly: “I have never believed that Tinubu is a material to govern the country, I have never, because now, people want (Muhammadu) Buhari to come back.”
He criticized the trend of worsening leadership in Nigeria, saying: “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.”
He pointed to the sharp depreciation of the naira as a key indicator of the economic downturn.
“People are asking for Buhari because things were better during Buhari’s administration. Dollar was I think ₦460 or five hundred and something now a dollar is one thousand five hundred and eighty, that is more than one hundred percent,” he said.
Responding to claims that the current exchange rate might be a result of deliberate policy, Amaechi replied: “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.”
When pressed on whether his actions stemmed from political ambition, the former minister responded, “I have the right to be ambitious, I am not over ambitious.”
