The immediate-past Minister of Transport, Rotimi Amaechi, has cleared the air on his comment that it would have been easier for the South East to produce the president in 2023 if the region had voted for President Muhammadu Buhari in the 2019 general election.
Amaechi made the clarification in an interview published by Vanguard.
Explaining his stance on Igbo Presidency in 2023, the former Rivers State Governor said:
I had made my views clear when I spoke before the election. I encouraged the Igbo in a lecture I delivered in Awka where I said Nigeria’s politics is not about merit. I think we can choose the best president from the Igbo this time because they have not been elected as the president of Nigeria. That is the only part among the three majority tribes that have not produced the president and I feel it is their turn. After the election, I made another comment that if they had voted for President Buhari, it would have been easy for you as a people to make a demand on the presidency. These were the two comments I made and since then I have gone to sleep.
Asked if voting Buhari was a determinant for attaining the presidency, Amaechi explained:
It may not be the determinant but it has a great role to play. Because it is a lot easier to convince the ruling party that you brought in your votes and therefore you should be considered to produce the presidential candidate for the office. In the same way, is it the best for Nigeria to produce the president on a zonal basis? I don’t think so but since we have not grown to look for the best material that we have in any part of the country, it would have been right to say let the Igbo have a shot at the presidency and that does not mean they don’t have a good hasnd. You would certainly see a very good material in that area for the presidency.
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