Amaechi’s Inordinate Ambition & The Igbo Venom By Alex Obi-Osuala

A report had it that Rotimi Amaechi has started retracting his earlier comment that Ndigbo cannot be considered for the presidency in 2023 because they did not vote APC. This was after we reminded him that politics of the fourth republic is not predicated on the Zonal votes but Zonal turns.


Amaechi has always nursed the ambition to be President or Vice President of Nigeria. When the APC mischief makers noticed this desire, they instigated him against his brother President Jonathan, they sold the idea of possible Vice Presidential slot with then-candidate Buhari to him.


Being the PDP governor’s forum chairman, all he had to do was to convince some of the PDP governors to defect with him to APC, this was to weaken Jonathan base and his re-election chances.



Amaechi bought the idea and defected with about seven (7) PDP governors mostly from the north (who without the knowledge of Amaechi, were desirous of power moving back to the north) to APC.


He was certain APC will surely offer him the Vice Presidential slot as promised; unknowing to him that JAGABAN (Bola Tinubu) had other ideas, and had concluded a deal with Buhari that a Yoruba person must be his running mate for the ACN and CPC alliance to work.


This was part of the many problems Amaechi had with Jagaban before, during and after the elections, he felt betrayed but it was too late, there was nothing he could do but to accept his fate.


They compensated him with Ministerial position of Transport; he was also assured of the possibility of the Vice Presidential ticket post-Buhari; But for that to smoothen out for him, he was mandated to get Rivers state back to APC in 2019 general elections.



This, he was unable to achieve; upon all the power of coercion and compulsion given to him at his disposal which was reported to have been responsible for many deaths recorded during the election in his state, yet his candidates performed woefully, and were defeated.


The President is presently not happy with him, not only because the party performed woefully in Rivers, but also because of the leaked audio tape before the general elections, where Amaechi was mocking the president’s performance as a failure, reportedly saying that hunger has taken over the country and masses are not enthusiastic of re-electing APC back to power.


Amechi’s future, therefore, lies in the balance with APC.


All this has resulted in Amaechi relegation to the position of irrelevance in his party, and he is desperately looking for how to rebuild relevance.


Therefore whatever that could appease the APC kingmakers at this point, he will do including criticizing the Igbo Presidential agitation, which is what the west will like to hear since Jagaban himself has declared interest in that position.


And he has successfully used Propaganda and APC chairman, Adams Oshiomhole, who has been his hatchet man, to neutralize Owelle Rochas Okorocha the only major challenge to him from the south, on the APC presidential ticket slot come 2023.


In conclusion, Amaechi should start thinking about returning back to PDP. He may not have any future left with APC going by his predicaments. I strongly doubt if his name will re-appear in the new ministerial list. The President doesn’t FORGIVE nor FORGET.