By Yusuf Danjuma Yunusa
Former Rivers State Governor and now one of the presidential hopefuls of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), Rotimi Amaechi, launched a blistering attack on the All Progressives Congress (APC) on Tuesday, accusing the ruling party of deploying state institutions to suppress political opposition.
Speaking at the ADC’s National Convention in Abuja, Amaechi addressed APC’s multiple failed attempts to undermine democracy.
“Why would a government official try to deny you your right to gather when the constitution says you can gather,” Amaechi said, responding directly to the alleged interference.
The former minister turned his criticism toward President Bola Tinubu, recalling their shared history during the formation of the APC.
“When we were forming APC, I know how many times President Tinubu told me how courageous I was,” Amaechi stated. “Currently, the man (Tinubu) doesn’t care. They’re using the institution of the government against the people of Nigeria. So what kind of a man is he?”
Reacting on Nigeria’s national security, Amaechi invoked the imagery of civil war while describing recent violences in Nasarawa State, Plateau, and others.
“I watched yesterday, Nasarawa people were running away from their community like civil war. The civil war image came back to my head,” he said.
The former governor contrasted the current situation with his tenure in Rivers State, where he vowed he showed no tolerance for criminality and terrorism.
“When I was the governor of Rivers State, you can’t commit a crime and I would sleep. I won’t sleep until I get the perpetrators. When I get you, then I go to bed. Ask General Bello, ask IG Sulaiman; he was my commissioner of Police.”
The ADC convention proceeded despite the alleged obstacles, with Amaechi emerging as a key figure in the party’s plans to challenge the ruling APC in the next electoral cycle.
