The Vice-Presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress, Rotimi Amaechi, has pledged to resign from office if Nigeria fails to record significant changes within one year of an ADC administration taking power in 2027.
Amaechi made the declaration during an interview on AIT’s Democracy Today programme on Wednesday, outlining security, education and the economy as the key areas an ADC government would prioritise.
He also identified corruption as a major obstacle to addressing Nigeria’s challenges.
“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.
Amaechi criticised President Bola Tinubu’s removal of the petrol subsidy, 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.
The former Rivers State governor also questioned the source of the money spent on lavish parties in some parts of the country, given what he described as widespread poverty.
On the economy, Amaechi claimed that Nigeria was heavily dependent on imported finished goods, saying the country imports more than 46 per cent of such goods.
He also referred to reports that President Tinubu was booed by some people during his arrival at the Lagos International Airport, saying an ADC administration would seek to 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 pledge came shortly after FCT Minister Nyesom Wike said President Tinubu should remove him from office if he fails to deliver the Federal Capital Territory to the President in the 2027 election.
Amaechi, however, said he was willing to stake his own position on the performance of an ADC administration.
“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.