Rotimi Amaechi Supporters Think He’s Buhari’s Anointed

Supporters of the Minister of Transportation, Mr Rotimi Amaechi, believe there are signs that he would be the successor of President Muhammadu Buhari.

Although he’s yet to declare his intention to vie for the Presidential ticket of the All Progressives Congress, APC, his support groups contend that the two times governor of Rivers State can defeat APC National Leader, Mr Bola Tinubu, and the others in the presidential primary.

Tinubu has criss-crossed the country to  ramp up consultations after declaring his intention to run for president in 2023 some weeks ago. He has also been endorsed by several groups.

 All political parties, by extant law, are expected to hold their presidential primaries in 2022, meaning that Amaechi may declare his presidential soon if he truly has the ambition.

He is into his second term as minister under Buhari and is reckoned to be one of the closest to the president.

Buhari had during an interview session early in the year said, he will not reveal his anointed, saying “No, I wouldn’t say because he may be eliminated if I mention. I better keep it.” But his supporters believe he may be the president’s anointed.

The convener of Coalition of Northern Youth for Good Governance, a member of the Amaechi support group, Mr Abdullahi Bilal, told THE WHISTLER on Monday that one does not have to look far to know what happened in Daura over the weekend had the mark of the president written all over it.

Buhari, who sent Mr Sulaiman Adamu, Minister of Water Resources; Mr Hadi Sirika, Minister of Aviation; and his presidential spokesman, Mr Garba Shehu to represent him at the event, congratulated Amaechi saying he deserved the honour “for working with enormous energy to make the CHANGE we promised Nigerians a reality.”

He described what Amaechi had done in the transport sector as an “extraordinary legacy.”

Bilal noted that Amaechi “is it,” and will defeat everyone including Tinubu during the APC primary.

He explained that once he receives presidential endorsement, then the 19 northern states and the South-south and South East are enough to give Amaechi the votes during the primary.

He justified the president’s position saying, “Amaechi straddles the age divide as he is between those that are considered too old on the job or too young and inexplicably inexperienced. At 56 years, he is easily the connection between the youth and the older generation.”

He added that, “Amaechi does not have the burden of old age-related health challenges that Nigerians are concerned about in some candidates.”

Another strong supporter of Amaechi, the Southern Mandate Group, SMG, told THE WHISTLER that Amaechi’s train is unstoppable at the moment as he has the full backing of the president.

President General of SMG, Mr Chibuikem Asuzu, said in a telephone chat, that “We are in support of Amaechi and our hope is that the Presidency be zoned to Southern Nigeria in the greater interest of equity, fair play and justice.”

He said the support groups are happy with the cordial relationship between the president and Amaechi, believing that, “He’s the president anointed and can defeat Tinubu, or anyone for the APC’s Ticket.”

He added that, “Amaechi has demonstrated his disposition to the oneness and unity of Nigeria through his advocacies concerning the indivisibility of Nigeria.”

The apex Igbo socio-cultural group, the Ohanaeze Ndigbo , said on Sunday that  Amaechi could be sponsored by the group with N10 billion campaign donation. The group said this in a statement signed by its National Secretary, Mazi Okechukwu Isiguzoro.