The African Democratic Congress (ADC) vice-presidential candidate, Rotimi Amaechi, has declared that he would separate from his wife if she became president and governed in the same manner as President Bola Tinubu.
Amaechi made the remark during an interview with Rapid TV, where he called on Nigerians to look beyond religious, political and ethnic affiliations and make their electoral decisions based on the performance of the Tinubu administration ahead of the 2027 presidential election.
The former Rivers State governor stressed that his personal relationship with his wife would not stop him from holding her accountable if her administration performed like Tinubu’s.
“Today, the closest person in my life is my wife, not my children. So tomorrow, if my wife becomes president and is doing what Tinubu is doing, I’ll be mad to follow my wife, despite my emotional attachment to her. It’s either she changes, or I leave her,” he said.
He urged Nigerians to evaluate the President based on his performance rather than allow personal affiliations to influence their political decisions.
“I expect Nigerians not to… forget religion, forget politics, forget ethnicity. Just abandon Tinubu,” he said.
Amaechi argued that Nigerians had experienced Tinubu’s leadership and should consider giving the opposition an opportunity to govern in 2027.
“There’s a difference between Tinubu’s team and our team. They have been tested, so you know that the next four years you will die. We have not been tested, so give us a chance,” he said.
However, the former minister acknowledged that he had previously served as a governor and minister, noting that Nigerians could judge his performance based on his records in those positions.
“The only person you can say that has been tested is me, because I’ve been a governor. But my record speaks for itself. I was once a minister. Projects are out there,” he said.
He encouraged Nigerians to visit Rivers State and independently assess his achievements during his tenure as governor.
“I was once a governor. Rivers State is there, anybody can go and verify. You can do your referendum,” Amaechi said.
He further maintained that neither he nor the ADC presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar, had occupied the offices of president and vice-president at the national level.
Amaechi also faulted Tinubu’s administration, using the computer expression “garbage in, garbage out” to argue that returning the President to office would produce similar outcomes.
“So now that you know that Tinubu is bad, if you know that Tinubu is bad and you garbage in the bad things, what comes out? The garbage out will also be bad,” he said.
The former Rivers governor also urged Nigerians to participate actively in the 2027 elections and protect their votes against alleged electoral manipulation.
Referring to the ongoing voting process in the United States, Amaechi encouraged Nigerians to turn out in large numbers and challenge any attempts to manipulate the election.
“You see what’s happening in America? Already 52 million Americans have voted. They are coming out in their numbers,” he said.
“In the same manner, Nigerians should come out in their numbers and not only vote; stop them from openly bragging that they will rig. If they have the support of the people, would they be bragging that they would rig?”