Buhari assured me of APC presidential ticket in 2022, I regret believing him — Amaechi

ADC vice-presidential candidate Rotimi Amaechi says he would have won the 2022 APC presidential primary if he had not obeyed then President Muhammadu Buhari’s instruction not to campaign, TheCable reported.

Rotimi Amaechi, vice-presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), says he would have won the 2022 All Progressives Congress (APC) presidential primary if he had not listened to then President Muhammadu Buhari, TheCable reported.

In an interview with Mainland FM, Amaechi said Buhari told him not to campaign and promised to declare him his preferred candidate.

“The first mistake that I made at that primary was that I listened to President Buhari. He said to me: ‘Don’t campaign, don’t do anything; I will announce you as my candidate’,” Amaechi said.

He said that because he obeyed, he made no deals with governors and stakeholders.

“Because I didn’t do deals, Tinubu had a chance to do deals,” he said.

Amaechi also alleged that Tinubu exploited religious sentiment. He claimed a delegation of Yoruba Muslims had asked north-west governors to back Tinubu on religious grounds.

Tinubu won the June 2022 primary with 1,271 votes, while Amaechi polled 316 votes and Yemi Osinbajo 235.