Rotimi Amaechi Blames Muhammadu Buhari for 2022 Primary Defeat
Rotimi Amaechi claims he lost the 2022 APC presidential primary because he followed Muhammadu Buhari's advice to avoid campaigning.
Vice-presidential candidate for the African Democratic Congress Rotimi Amaechi attributed his loss in the 2022 All Progressives Congress presidential primary to the advice of the late President Muhammadu Buhari. During a radio interview in Lagos, Amaechi claimed Buhari provided written assurance that he would be announced as the preferred candidate and explicitly instructed him not to campaign or negotiate with delegates.
Amaechi stated that following these instructions prevented him from building necessary political alliances with governors. This lack of strategic networking allowed Bola Tinubu to secure the ticket through deals and the exploitation of religious sentiments among Northern delegates. Amaechi specifically cited the support of Nasir El-Rufai and a delegation of Southern Yoruba Muslims as evidence of this religious strategy.
In the June 2022 primary held at Eagle Square in Abuja, Tinubu won with 1,271 votes, while Amaechi received 316. Tinubu subsequently won the 2023 presidential election. Despite the defeat, Amaechi asserted his commitment to nationalism, stating he refuses to use religious identity as a political tool.
