In a dramatic political shift, former Minister of Transportation and two-time Director-General of President Buhari’s campaign, Rotimi Amaechi, has officially resigned from the All Progressives Congress (APC), declaring that Nigeria is in a state of total collapse and desperately in need of a national overhaul.
Amaechi made the announcement on Wednesday in Abuja during the unveiling of the interim executive of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), a party he appears poised to support in a wider political realignment. In a scathing critique, he accused the APC and the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) of conspiring to hijack upcoming elections.
“Nigeria is completely destroyed,” Amaechi said. “People can’t eat. People can’t buy food. There’s no money to buy food. Inflation is at its peak. Everything is gone.”
Confirming his resignation from the ruling party on Tuesday night, Amaechi expressed surprise that the APC hadn’t expelled him earlier, revealing that he had warned party leaders not to invite him to meetings. “You can’t be in a club where the majority of people are stealing and you don’t say anything,” he stated.
Amaechi’s departure marks a significant blow to the APC, given his past influence as governor of Rivers State, minister under Buhari, and a one-time presidential aspirant. Now aligning himself with the ADC, Amaechi emphasized that Nigeria’s problems transcend political parties and require a total systemic change.
“This is not just about leaving APC or changing parties. It’s about changing Nigeria,” he asserted. “What must happen here is that we must start not just a party, but a movement — a movement for the people, by the people, to take over government, not for us to take over power on their behalf.”
In a rare direct attack on President Bola Tinubu, Amaechi questioned the president’s capacity to govern, saying, “I have never believed that Tinubu is a material to govern the country… People want Buhari to come back.”
Drawing comparisons between the Tinubu and Buhari administrations, Amaechi pointed to the severe economic decline and plummeting value of the naira under Tinubu’s leadership. “Dollar was ₦460 or five hundred and something. Now a dollar is ₦1,580. That is more than 100 percent,” he lamented.
When asked if the worsening exchange rate might be part of a deliberate government strategy, Amaechi was blunt in his response: “Whether it’s a deliberate government policy or not, any government that does not take into consideration the people you are governing is not a policy. President Tinubu said he is not here to make Nigerians happy.”
With this high-profile defection and his call for a national movement, Amaechi’s departure may signal a new wave of opposition ahead of the 2027 elections — and deepen existing fractures within the ruling party.
