By Jane Okafor, Abuja
Key opposition leader and former 2023 APC presidential aspirant, Rotimi Amaechi, has declared that the real and daunting challenge or problem facing the opposition was not President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
On the contrary, Amaechi said that the the opposition politicians and their political parties in the country remained the problem to themselves.
The ex – Transport Minister stressed that the strategies employed by the opposition ahead of 2O27 were faulty, a development he noted, leaves them weaker through every fresh move taken by Tinubu.
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The former Governor of Rivers State spoke on Thursday while making his remarks at a press conference in Abuja which was addressed by
leaders of the opposition African Democratic Congress(ADC) and the New Nigeria Peoples Party(NNPP) to pile fresh pressure on the National Assembly over the Electoral Act 2026.
The opposition leaders and their political platforms belatedly kicking against it on Thursday. They described it as anti-democratic and skewed ahead of the 2027 general elections, alluding that it was meant to favour the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) and President Tinubu.
The Electoral Act 2022, permitted political parties to nominate candidates through direct primaries involving all registered members, indirect primaries conducted by delegates, or by consensus arrangements attained by party leaders but the 2026 Electoral Act recently passed by the National Assembly and assented to by President Bola Tinubu on February 18 only allows political parties to use direct primaries and consensus options to select candidates for elective offices.
The Senate has, however, dismissed the clamour, advising opposition leaders – Amaechi, former Vice President Atiku Abubakar and ex – Presidential candidate of the Labour Party (LP) Peter Obi and Rotimi Amaechi to channel their grievances within the framework of the National Assembly.
Amaechi urged the nation’s opposition politicians to separate themselves from the government in power, recalling that during the era of the immediate administration of late President Muhammadu Buhari, a few ministers went to Buhari at the time and convinced him not to sign Electoral Reforms Act.
He said the argument of those opposed to reforms then was that if Buhari signed it, Russia would hack the system and impose the wrong President on Nigerians, and the late President refused to sign.
Amaechi said, “Actually, Tinubu is not our problem; the opposition is the problem of the opposition. The first thing we must know is that we must separate ourselves from the government in power. I said in one of these conferences that when I was in government, (Muhammadu) Buhari wanted electoral reform. So, a few ministers went to him and convinced him not to sign — that if he signed, Russia would hack the system and impose the wrong President on us. And he refused to sign.
“Tinubu will one day shout electoral reforms. If he doesn’t shout electoral reforms, those who are supporting him will shout electoral reforms. Tinubu is not our problem, watch his government, watch his strategy to win elections. His strategy is simple; his pattern is simple. He tries something today, you are weak. He puts something bigger, you are weaker. So, we need to focus on our strategy.”
In his remarks, the 2023 Presidential candidate of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), Atiku Abubakar, urged the opposition leaders to channel their position on the electoral process to all foreign embassies.
Atiku said, “And again, what you must bear in mind is that the collapse of democracy in Nigeria is going to lead to the collapse of democracy in Africa because we are the largest democracy in Africa. These are some of the consequences that will definitely affect other democracies in Africa.
“So, I will call on other opposition parties that are not here to make sure that they are part of this movement for the unity of opposition parties to ensure we restore our democracy.
“But a word of caution: we did this exercise in 2014 also. We came together and fought in this city because we felt democracy was faulty in 2014, only for us to end up in the same position we found ourselves in. The major challenges were insecurity, the economy, and so on and so forth. Now it is really worse.
“So, we must bear it in mind that we must make sure we restore true democracy to our country. That was what we fought for. That was what the founders of this country fought for, and what we fought for in the military. We must make sure that it is established in this country.”
For Peter Obi, it was lamentation about the increasing level of poverty among Nigerians, worrying that the APC-led Federal Government had borrowed heavily without delivering any tangible results.
“We have the same view, but it is important that we repeat it as often as we can so that Nigerians know we are together. There is a need for a genuine opposition party. Those who are not here today — we are pleading that we all come together to save our dear country.
“The government we have today and that continues is the worst ever in our country. There is no governance in Nigeria. The legislature is at its worst. The judiciary is no longer the hope of the weak or the poor. Insecurity, killings, and abductions are worse than even in countries at war. Just in the past week, I mentioned killings in Zamfara on Friday, and today, even while we are speaking, over 20 already (killed) in Adamawa. It is all about the country; I just mentioned a few.
“Poverty has increased dramatically in the past two and a half years — from about 87 million to about 140 million today, the highest in any country on earth. In fact, we now have almost over 30 per cent of the world’s poor people living in Nigeria. We now have more poor people living in Nigeria, a country of about 240 million, than China and India combined.
“This government has borrowed more, according to records, than all governments since 1999, without anything to show for it. Food prices have not gone down. Actually, we have killed all our farmers because we have imported cheap goods and thrown our farmers into poverty, which will even worsen the hunger situation in Nigeria in the future.
“Manufacturers’ houses and warehouses are full without anything to show for it. So, we have a crisis, and everybody has to come together to save the country,” Obi said.
