2027: I’ll resign if Nigeria doesn’t change in one year — Amaechi

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 in an interview on AIT’s Democracy Today on Wednesday, saying an ADC administration would prioritise security, education and the economy.

He said tackling corruption would also be central to addressing the country’s challenges, arguing that public funds meant to address critical sectors were being diverted into private pockets.

“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,” Amaechi said.

The ADC candidate also criticised the removal of fuel subsidy by the administration of President Bola Tinubu, arguing that Nigerians had not benefited sufficiently from the policy.

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

Amaechi also expressed concern over the contrast between widespread poverty and the lavish parties he said he encounters in parts of the country.

He said he sometimes spent only a few minutes at such events because he questioned the source of the money being spent, given the level of poverty in Nigeria.

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

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

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

The ADC vice-presidential candidate also referred to reports of Nigerians booing President Tinubu during his arrival at the Lagos International Airport, saying an ADC government would change the situation.

“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.

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

Amaechi, however, said he was prepared to stake his own position on the performance of an ADC government.

“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.