Former Minister of Transportation, Rotimi Amaechi, has confidently declared that he will beat President Bola Tinubu in the 2027 presidential election — but only if he secures the ticket of the African Democratic Congress (ADC).
Speaking on Saturday during a conversation on X Spaces, Amaechi said he has never directly faced Tinubu in an election but believes he knows the president’s strengths and weaknesses well enough to win.
“I tell you, I’ve not had an election against Tinubu. I know Tinubu very well. I know his strengths. I know his weaknesses. And I know that if allowed to fly the flag of ADC, I will defeat Tinubu for sure,” Amaechi said.
He also denied any involvement in election rigging, insisting he has always stayed away from such practices. He revealed that he refused all invitations from the All Progressives Congress (APC) to join their election planning committees.
“I challenge any politician, living or dead, to come forward and say I was part of rigging,” he said.
“In fact, all the appointments given to me by APC to join election planning committees, I have refused to participate. There was no one I participated in. Why? Because I know what they discuss. I listen to them. I hear them. If I get the ticket, I will reveal those things.”
Amaechi hinted at how rigging might work, saying, “They will bring governors. They will go to government agencies and get money, but the rest, I don’t want to say it until I win primaries.”
He vowed to oppose rigging in future elections, promising, “I will never participate in any rigging whatsoever, and I will not do it. What I promise to do now, going forward, is to stop rigging.”
On allegations against him, Amaechi said he would only apologise if presented with clear evidence.
“I challenge any Nigerian to produce evidence that I participated in any election rigging, and I will apologise for that,” he stated.
Amaechi also spoke about the 2023 general elections, conceding that Labour Party’s presidential candidate, Peter Obi, won in Rivers State, but questioned the official results.
“I would agree to an extent that Peter Obi won in Rivers state, but unfortunately, the result that came out was different. How it happened, I have no idea,” he said.
