Amaechi takes credit for Buhari’s 2015 win, downplays Tinubu's influence

Former Rivers State Governor and ex-Minister of Transportation, Rotimi Amaechi, has said he, not President Bola Tinubu, was the main person behind late Muhammadu Buhari's victory in 2015.

In a Friday interview on Arise News’ Prime Time, Amaechi, who is now a presidential aspirant with the African Democratic Congress, responded to Tinubu’s long-standing claims.

During his campaign for the 2023 election, Tinubu claimed Buhari would not have become president without his help and stated it was now his turn to be president.

Amaechi explained that as a minister under Buhari, he could not openly challenge Tinubu’s statements to protect his job.

“When we decided to form the APC, while I was a minister, (Tinubu) was claiming he made Buhari president and I couldn’t respond because I was a minister under President Buhari. That would have been suicidal because Buhari could fire you,” Amaechi said.

He added, “So I couldn’t have said, ‘You are wrong.’ He didn’t make President Buhari president. Not only was I the DG of the campaign, but everybody will bear witness that I did all the battle.

“I led the Governors’ Forum, criss-crossed the country fighting here and there trying to get Nigerians to know that this is the time for change.”

Amaechi served as Director-General of Buhari’s 2015 and 2019 presidential campaigns.

He was a key player in the 2013, 2014 defection of PDP governors that helped create the APC alliance, which eventually defeated President Goodluck Jonathan.

But Tinubu also played a big role in Buhari’s rise, leading the merger of major opposition parties, including his Action Congress of Nigeria, to form the All Progressives Congress, which took on and defeated the then-ruling PDP.

These comments come as Amaechi positions himself for the 2027 presidential race within the growing opposition coalition under the ADC.

In recent months, he has been vocal about criticizing the Tinubu administration over economic struggles.