A former governor of Rivers State and chieftain of the opposition coalition, African Democratic Congress, Rotimi Amaechi, has urged Nigerians to prepare to vote massively in 2027 to ensure that President Bola Tinubu is defeated.
According to Amaechi, who in August declared his interest to contest for President in 2027, the fact that Tinubu was defeated in Lagos State in 2023 showed that he is not invincible.
Amaechi, alongside a former governor of Bayelsa State, Seriake Dickson, spoke at the fifth anniversary lecture of First Daily newspaper held in Abuja on Monday.
The theme of the event was ‘2027: How can we make our votes count?’
In his goodwill message, Amaechi cautioned that voter apathy and complacency allow electoral malpractice to thrive, saying Nigerians must participate in the next elections to prevent President Tinubu from getting second term.
He said, “The first solution to electoral reform is not the government. The people are the problem. The more you say they have written the results, the more you have voter apathy. Voter apathy will make President Bola Tinubu return to Villa.”
Amaechi urged citizens to take control of the process, saying, “Tell the people the power is in your hands. Come out. If Tinubu is that invincible, how was he defeated in Lagos?
It can be repeated but first and foremost you must agree that the man there is not invincible. The problem is the opposition.”
He added that it is unrealistic to expect a government in power to undertake an electoral reform.
“The problem with election in Nigeria is that there is no incumbent government that can achieve electoral reform. None. We already tried it and failed,” he said.
Amaechi alleged that vested interests within the political class often frustrate reform efforts.
The former Minister of Transportation also blamed opposition parties for not developing viable strategies, noting that internal division and lack of focus weaken their ability to challenge the ruling elite.
“I tell the opposition parties that you’re the problem. The opposition party is not discussing how to save Nigeria. Nobody is saying oh things are bad, how do we change the candidate,” he said.
Earlier, Dickson, who chaired the event, condemned what he described as the subversion of the people’s sovereignty through rigged elections, calling it “the worst coup” against democracy.
“We have a long way to go as far as protecting the sovereignty that our constitution says belongs to the people because the only time Nigerians express that sovereignty that the constitution rightly says is theirs is during elections.
“Rigging of elections is the worst coup you can plan,” the ex-governor explained.
Speaking further, the senator representing Bayelsa West condemned the manipulation of election results by politicians and government officials.
He said, “A worst form of violation of the sovereignty of the people is when politicians, governments, security agencies and the electoral umpire itself colludes and then cook election results that have no reference whatsoever to the people.
“In other words, the people don’t even vote but votes are written and ascribed to them and then people say go to court now.
“As far as I’m concerned, anyone who has planned that, anyone who has carried that out, those are the real coup plotters because that is a coup against democracy, against the country, in the sovereignty of the people.”
The former Bayelsa governor said he witnessed electoral manipulation during his time in office.