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Former Rivers State Governor, Rotimi Amaechi, has explained why he refused to support President Bola Tinubu despite having the opportunity to do so.
Amaechi said his decision was influenced by concerns over insecurity, the protection of lives and property, and what he described as the Federal Government’s handling of political dissent.
Speaking on AIT, the former minister said creating jobs and growing the economy were essential to tackling banditry and terrorism, alongside strengthening the police and military.
“You need to create jobs to take away these people from each other,” Amaechi said.
He argued that providing people with legitimate sources of livelihood could reduce the attraction of criminal activities.
Amaechi, who is the African Democratic Congress (ADC) vice-presidential candidate to Atiku Abubakar in the 2027 presidential election, also recalled his approach to insecurity while serving as Rivers governor.
He said he was forced to take action because, according to him, the Federal Government at the time was not doing enough to protect residents.
“Because I needed to save the lives of my people. For every day somebody was killed, I was crying. I needed to solve that. I had a responsibility,” he said.
Amaechi subsequently criticised Tinubu’s administration over insecurity, arguing that the Constitution places a responsibility on the President to protect lives and property.
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“As we’re talking today, by law, President Tinubu is not worthy to be president, by law,” he said.
The former governor also accused the administration of focusing on arrests of political opponents and protesters rather than addressing insecurity.
He cited the alleged arrest of three people at an ADC meeting in Port Harcourt and reported arrests of protesters in Borno and Kaduna.
Amaechi further criticised politicians who, according to him, become more vocal about democracy when they are outside government but change their positions after gaining political power.
He compared Tinubu’s current administration with the military government of the late General Sani Abacha, claiming that what the President is doing now is “worse than what Abacha did.”
Amaechi said he deliberately chose not to join Tinubu’s government and recalled telling the President directly that he would not support him.
“I chose not to be part of government,” he said.
“I told Tinubu when he came to me… I said, I won’t support you. I had the choice to say I will support you.”
