Rotimi Amaechi, the vice-presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress (ADC) and former governor of Rivers State, has urged Nigerians to vote on candidates’ records rather than on ethnic sentiment.
He spoke at the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) conference in Port Harcourt on Monday, where he represented Atiku Abubakar, the ADC’s presidential candidate.
The ADC, described by some as a leading opposition to the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), has led calls for accountability and governance that positively impact citizens.
Amaechi joined Peter Obi, Omoyele Sowore and Adewale Adebayo – presidential candidates of the Labour Party (LP), the African Action Congress (AAC) and the Social Democratic Party (SDP) respectively – at the conference on Monday to discuss Nigeria’s security situation, policing structure, fuel subsidy and the economy.
He argued that the economy can be stabilised through massive job creation, local production and policies that put more money in Nigerians’ pockets.
The ADC vice-presidential candidate said an Atiku-Amaechi administration would ensure equitable distribution of political appointments across the country, criticising what he described as concentration of appointments under the Tinubu administration.
Omoyele Sowore, AAC presidential candidate, called for a change of government, arguing that Nigeria’s security crisis cannot be resolved under the present leadership.
Sowore also criticised the Federal Government’s fuel-subsidy policy, adding he has consistently opposed subsidy because of the way it is administered.
‘If there is anybody that has been consistent in the removal of fuel subsidy, it has been me. The question about fuel subsidy is: who are you subsidising? You are subsidising the elite. You are subsidising the governors,’ he said.
On security, Sowore and Adewale Adebayo, SDP’s presidential candidate, agreed that Nigeria requires a change in leadership to tackle terrorism and other threats. Adebayo, however, differed from most candidates on policing structure, advocating a three-tier system involving federal, state and local government police.
Donald Duke, former Cross River State governor, said leadership remains the central issue confronting Nigeria, arguing that getting the leadership question right would have a multiplier effect on other sectors.
‘If we get the leadership right, everything else will fall into place,’ Duke said, condemning the influence of ethnicity in Nigerian politics and advocating reforms to strengthen the presidential system.