I mobilised govs that won Buhari presidency — Amaechi

Former Minister of Transportation Rotimi Amaechi has rejected President Bola Tinubu’s claim of being the principal architect of Muhammadu Buhari’s 2015 presidential victory, insisting that the electoral triumph was the product of collective efforts in which he played the dominant role.

Tinubu has consistently maintained that Buhari would never have won the presidency without his intervention — arguing that he personally convinced the former military ruler to contest for a fourth time after three failed attempts and that he built the political coalition that ultimately delivered victory.

But Amaechi, speaking in an interview on Arise TV on Friday, flatly disputed that account, saying several key political actors were instrumental in forming the All Progressives Congress and in securing Buhari’s triumph at the polls.

The former Rivers State governor, who served as Director-General of Buhari’s presidential campaign, said he also leveraged his chairmanship of the Nigeria Governors’ Forum to drive nationwide mobilisation, crisscrossing the country to coordinate the campaign effort.

“I did all the battle,” he said, adding that he had deliberately held back from publicly challenging Tinubu’s version of events while serving in Buhari’s cabinet, knowing that doing so could have carried political consequences.

Amaechi acknowledged that despite the momentum generated by the APC’s “change” agenda ahead of the 2015 general election, the administration that followed returned a mixed record — recording gains in some areas while falling short in others.