Amaechi vows to scrap indigenship, federal character if elected president

Former Rivers State governor and former Minister of Transportation, Rotimi Amaechi, has said he would abolish indigenship and the federal character system if elected president, arguing that every Nigerian should be treated first as a citizen, regardless of ethnic, regional or religious background.

Amaechi made the remarks in a video shared by Symfoni on X, where he criticised identity politics and called for a governance structure driven by citizenship and equal opportunity.

“Assess us by what we have done, and reach a conclusion. All I’m hearing, I’m from North, I’m from South, I’m from East. I’m not from South or East or West. I’m a Nigerian,” Amaechi said.

The former minister said his vision for Nigeria would move away from the long-standing practice of indigenship, which often determines access to opportunities, appointments and benefits in different parts of the country.

“If I become a president, there will not be in indengenship. There will be citizenship,” he said.

Amaechi also took aim at the federal character principle, describing it as a product of a system he believes has failed to guarantee fairness and equal access for Nigerians.

“We are first and foremost citizens of Nigeria. All this, I’m West, I’m North, I’m East. And you’re calling people to vote for you based on religion… There will be no federal character,” he stated.

Explaining his position, Amaechi argued that federal character was introduced as a way of managing deep-rooted inequality within the country.

“Federal character is because the system is unfair. See, one way to manage the system is to say, give shares to areas…” he said.

The former governor also linked rising insecurity, armed robbery and kidnapping to economic hardship and unemployment, saying a functioning economy would reduce the incentive for crime.

“If everybody is employed… you wouldn’t have time to rob. Because 6am you are at work, 6pm you are closed. You are too tired to wake up to carry a gun. The reason why you are seeing people carry a gun, kidnap people, is because the system is bad,” Amaechi said.

His comments add to the ongoing national debate over constitutional reform, inclusion, federal character and the future of Nigeria’s political structure, especially as conversations around the 2027 elections continue.