2027: I’ll resign if… — Amaechi

The vice-presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress, ADC, Rotimi Amaechi, has vowed to resign from office if Nigeria fails to begin witnessing significant changes within one year of the party assuming power in 2027.

Amaechi made the declaration during an interview on AIT’s Democracy Today on Wednesday, while outlining the priorities an ADC administration would pursue if elected.

He identified security, education and the economy as three major areas that would receive attention under an ADC government, stressing that addressing corruption would be necessary to achieve progress in the sectors.

Security, education, economy

Amaechi said the country’s resources should be channelled towards addressing critical national challenges rather than being diverted into private pockets.

According to him, corruption had contributed significantly to the inability of successive administrations to adequately tackle insecurity, improve education and strengthen the economy.

“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,” he said.

The ADC candidate said reducing corruption would make more resources available for the government to address the needs of Nigerians.

Fuel subsidy removal

Amaechi also criticised the removal of fuel subsidy by the administration of President Bola Tinubu, questioning the benefits Nigerians had received from the policy.

He argued that while the subsidy had been removed, the expected benefits had not sufficiently reflected in the lives of ordinary Nigerians.

“President Tinubu remove subsidy, what are the benefits of subsidy? Subsidy money is in private pockets and they are celebrating,” he said.

The former governor also expressed concern over the level of poverty in the country, contrasting it with the lavish parties he said he encounters in some parts of Nigeria.

Amaechi said he sometimes spent only a few minutes at such events because he questioned how some people were able to spend large sums of money on celebrations despite the widespread economic hardship.

“I sit down and ask myself, where are these people getting this money from, going by how high poverty is in Nigeria?” he said.

Import dependence

Speaking on the economy, Amaechi said Nigeria remained heavily dependent on imported finished goods, claiming that the country now imports more than 46 per cent of such goods.

He questioned the identity of those behind the importation and warned about the implications of continued dependence on imported products.

“Who are those importing? Nigeria is in trouble,” he said.

Amaechi said an ADC administration would focus on addressing the structural problems affecting the economy and creating conditions that would improve the country’s economic situation.

Tinubu booing

The ADC vice-presidential candidate also referred to reports of Nigerians booing President Tinubu during his arrival at the Lagos International Airport.

Amaechi said the development reflected dissatisfaction among some Nigerians and claimed that an ADC administration would change the situation by improving the country.

“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.

One-year deadline

Amaechi’s one-year pledge came shortly after his political rival, the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, said President Tinubu should remove him from office if he failed to deliver the FCT to the President in the 2027 election.

Wike had reportedly made the statement in the context of his commitment to the President’s political prospects in the Federal Capital Territory.

Amaechi, however, said he was prepared to stake his own position on the performance of an ADC administration if the party wins the 2027 presidential election.

“This time, I will say it. If Nigeria does not begin to change one year after we’ve come to office, come to me, I will resign,” he said.

The declaration places a one-year performance benchmark on Amaechi’s proposed tenure, with the ADC candidate tying his continued stay in office to whether Nigerians begin to see noticeable changes under the party’s administration.