Rotimi Amaechi, the African Democratic Congress (ADC) vice-presidential candidate for the 2027 election, has pledged to resign from office if the country fails to record significant improvements within one year of an ADC administration taking power.
Amaechi made the commitment during an interview on AIT’s Democracy Today programme on Wednesday, outlining security, education and economic development as key priorities of an ADC government.
He also identified corruption as a major obstacle to solving Nigeria’s problems, arguing that public resources meant for critical sectors were being diverted into private hands.
‘We must deal with three things. We must deal with security; we must deal with education; we must deal with the economy. And to do all that, corruption will have to come down because there’s no money for anybody to steal,’ Amaechi said.
The former governor also faulted President Bola Tinubu’s removal of the petrol subsidy, questioning the benefits Nigerians had derived from the policy.
‘President Tinubu remove subsidy, what are the benefits of subsidy? Subsidy money is in private pockets and they are celebrating,’ he said.
Amaechi expressed concern about the level of poverty in the country, contrasting it with what he described as extravagant celebrations in some parts of Nigeria.
He said he sometimes left such events after spending only a short time there because he was troubled by questions over the source of the money being spent.
‘I sit down and ask myself, where are these people getting this money from, going by how high poverty is in Nigeria?’ he said.
Speaking on the economy, the ADC candidate claimed that Nigeria was increasingly dependent on imported finished products, saying the country now imports more than 46 per cent of such goods.
‘Who are those importing? Nigeria is in trouble,’ he said.
Amaechi also referred to reports of some Nigerians booing President Tinubu during his arrival at the Lagos International Airport, saying such scenes would change under an ADC administration.
‘I watched people hoot at Tinubu from the Lagos International Airport to his house. If we become President, nobody will do that, they will be clapping for us because we will change Nigeria,’ he said.