Former Minister of Transportation, Rotimi Amaechi, has said that he did not join the opposition because President Bola Tinubu didn’t appoint him to any role.
Amaechi was among top politicians who unveiled the African Democratic Congress (ADC) as the political platform for the coalition against Tinubu’s administration in Abuja on Wednesday.
“I never stole anything in politics. I don’t drive a Rolls-Royce. I’m not in opposition because Tinubu didn’t give me an appointment. I’m not interested in any appointment,” he said on Thursday during an interview on Channels TV’s Politics Today.
“If there’s anyone who says Amaechi deceived them, let them come forward. If there was corruption in my tenure, let them come forward. I’m waiting.”
Amaechi claimed that while former President Muhammadu Buhari did not achieve all his goals, he still performed better than Tinubu’s administration.
“Not everything was achieved. Buhari will tell you that he did not achieve all that he planned for. But then, he was better than the current government by all standards,” he said.
Amaechi highlighted security and institutional independence as areas where Buhari outperformed Tinubu.
“In terms of security, Buhari focused on it. In transportation, I’m open to a new challenge. Again, the independence of INEC was higher in Buhari’s government than now.
“Now, they can’t even register a party because government officials are telling them not to. Those who applied to INEC for registration — their rents have expired,” he said.
The former Rivers State governor accused the Tinubu administration of mishandling the economy, insisting it has worsened poverty across the country.
“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.
“You’re making savings from removing the subsidy, from floating the naira — where is the money? Where is it going?” he asked.
According to him, Nigeria’s socio-economic structure has collapsed into two classes — the elite and the poor.
