At a public lecture in Abuja marking his 60th birthday, former Minister of Transportation, Mr. Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi, made a series of bold statements about Nigeria’s leadership, poverty, and the 2023 general elections.
He revealed that prior to the election, he had told President Bola Tinubu directly that he would neither work for him nor vote for him, citing concerns over leadership capacity.
“I met President Tinubu in Yola and told him I will not work for you and I will not vote for you,” Amaechi disclosed. “It wasn’t about political parties. It was about capacity. I had already made my decision before the election.”
Amaechi criticized the current administration for lack of accountability and transparency, especially regarding the savings from the removal of the fuel subsidy. “The government claimed it saved N5 trillion from stopping fuel subsidies—what have they done with that money?” he asked. “If it had been reinvested into the economy, poverty levels could have been reduced.”
He also touched on worsening insecurity and economic hardship, saying both are tied to poverty. Recalling his tenure as governor of Rivers State, he emphasized that circulation of money—through payment of contractors and salaries—directly reduced crime rates. “Insecurity thrives where poverty thrives,” he stated.
Meanwhile, former Vice President Atiku Abubakar accused the Tinubu administration of weaponising poverty for political control, claiming economic hardship is being deliberately manipulated to suppress citizens.
Former Kaduna State governor, Mallam Nasir El-Rufai, also weighed in, criticizing the country’s leadership and claiming Nigeria is being overtaken by “urban bandits.”
Adding a different dimension, the Emir of Kano, Muhammadu Sanusi II, reflected on his personal journey, saying he never truly understood poverty until he became emir.
Amaechi concluded with a scathing critique of the current political culture, denouncing the use of religious and ethnic divisions for electoral gain. “They sold a Muslim-Muslim ticket. Where has that taken us? Hunger doesn’t recognize religion. Let’s put the country first.”
The lecture, themed “Weaponisation of Poverty as Means of Underdevelopment: A Case Study of Nigeria,” served as a platform for multiple prominent voices to call for a shift away from divisive politics and toward true national development.
