Buhari told me not to campaign, promised me APC presidential ticket in 2022 – Amaechi

Amaechi made the revelation during an interview on Mainland 98.3FM’s The Situation Room programme in Lagos on Friday, while recounting how President Bola Tinubu defeated him to emerge as the APC presidential candidate for the 2023 general election.

The former Minister of Transportation said his decision to rely on Buhari’s assurance rather than engage in political negotiations with governors and other influential party members contributed to his defeat.

According to him, Buhari had promised in writing to announce him as his preferred candidate, leading him to believe that the former president’s endorsement would give him an advantage over other contenders.

He said, “The first mistake that I made at that primary was that I listened to President Buhari. He said to me, ‘Don’t campaign. Don’t do anything. I will announce you as my candidate.’

“He told me that. He put it in writing. When I write my book, I’ll put it out.”

Amaechi admitted that he also failed to negotiate political support with governors and other influential figures in the party, unlike Tinubu, whom he accused of building strategic alliances ahead of the primary.

He said he could have secured the backing of several governors by offering political appointments, including the positions of vice-president and Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF).

“Now, I didn’t do deals. So I would have promised you vice-president, promised you SGF, and then would have gone for this primary, I would have possibly won. I would have had governors on my side.

“Because I didn’t do deals, Tinubu had the chance to do deals,” he said.

The ADC chieftain also accused Tinubu of using religious sentiments to mobilise support among delegates, particularly in the North, during the APC primary.

He alleged that a delegation of Yoruba Muslims from the South-West had approached governors in the North-West to seek their support for Tinubu on religious grounds.

Amaechi cited former Kaduna State Governor Nasir El-Rufai, whom he said initially supported his presidential ambition but later backed Tinubu.

“El-Rufai was my supporter. El-Rufai, in a viral video, said this is done for the faith,” he said.

However, Amaechi maintained that he would not exploit religious differences to secure political support, insisting that doing so could deepen divisions in the country.

He said he would not ask religious leaders to mobilise their followers to vote for him, even if such an approach could improve his chances of winning an election.

“I wouldn’t want to run that kind of federation. Catholics are 35 million in Nigeria. I wouldn’t want to go to the Catholic Church and say, please announce me. Tell them that all Catholics must go out and vote Amaechi.

“It will cause confusion. It will cause problems in the country. That makes me a nationalist,” he said.

Amaechi also questioned the widespread perception of Tinubu as an exceptionally skilful political strategist, arguing that his political influence should have translated into an earlier emergence as president if his reputation for political manoeuvring was as strong as portrayed.

At the APC presidential primary held at Eagle Square in Abuja in June 2022, Tinubu polled 1,271 votes to defeat Amaechi, who secured 316 votes, alongside other aspirants.