I’ll abandon Atiku, back Tinubu if petrol sells at ₦600 – Amaechi

Former Rivers State Governor and African Democratic Congress (ADC) vice-presidential candidate, Rotimi Amaechi, has said he would withdraw from the party’s 2027 presidential ticket and campaign for President Bola Tinubu if petrol sells for ₦600 per litre.

Amaechi made the declaration on Friday, October 2, 2026, while appearing on Channels Television’s Politics Today, where he criticised the economic impact of the Tinubu administration’s policies, particularly the removal of the petrol subsidy.

The former Transportation Minister said he was prepared to personally visit a filling station to verify the pump price and follow through on his pledge if petrol had fallen to the stated amount.

“If fuel comes down to 600 tomorrow, I will campaign for President Tinubu,” Amaechi said.

“Tomorrow, if you doubt, come with your camera in the morning in the house, and I will go to the fuel station, and I will buy fuel.

“If fuel has come down, if it comes down to this, I, Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi, will withdraw as the vice-presidential candidate of Atiku and campaign for President Tinubu, if it has come down.”

Amaechi is the running mate to former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, who is contesting the 2027 presidential election on the ADC platform.

His comments followed a discussion on the Federal Government’s economic reforms and whether Nigerians were experiencing improvements in their living conditions. Amaechi argued that the cost of transportation, housing, healthcare and other basic needs remained burdensome despite measures such as the increase in the minimum wage.

He cited the situation of workers whose earnings, according to him, were being substantially consumed by transportation costs.

“I have my wife, I have staff in her shop, and they’re asking for a salary increase,” he said. “Do you know why they’re asking for a salary increase?

“Transport from where they live to the 70,000 Naira you pay them in a month as wage, as their income. Transport alone takes N65,000.”

He also raised concerns about rising rents and other expenses confronting households.

“What about house rent?” Amaechi asked. “That loan has increased its rent by 300%. I have somebody call me up in Lagos and tell me they’ve increased my leasing by 100%.”

According to the former governor, salary increases are being undermined by taxation and the rising cost of living.

“So, government increases your salary to 70,000, introduces taxes that take away over 60 to 70%,” he said.

Amaechi further spoke about access to healthcare, saying some Nigerians had approached him for assistance with medical expenses.

“How many people have died because they can’t afford drugs?” he asked. “How many people have called me, sent me texts asking me to pay for their drugs? And I’m not able to pay because I have my children, I have my siblings to take care of.”

On the 2027 election, Amaechi described the contest in stark terms, arguing that economic survival should take precedence over regional and other considerations.

“The people have not two choices, one choice to make, the choice to be alive, because Tinubu presents the choice of death,” Amaechi said.

He added that the economic circumstances of Nigerians should be considered before other political factors.

“If you vote for Tinubu, first, before you even talk about the country, before you talk about the north, before you talk about the south, or east, or west, or the region, you must learn that the first thing is that you must be alive,” he said.

“And most people won’t be alive if Tinubu wins their second tenure. Tinubu will not win this election because there may not be a Nigeria if he wins the election.”

Asked to explain his position, Amaechi said, “The people are tired. They are hungry. The president can only help them by giving them food.”

His comments came amid renewed political arguments over the economic reforms of the Tinubu administration. Atiku had also criticised the government over the cost of living, while Tinubu has defended his reforms and said in his October 1 Independence Day address that the measures were beginning to deliver economic gains.

Petrol prices have remained a major issue in the political debate ahead of the 2027 election, with Amaechi using the pump price as a measure of the administration’s economic performance.

Despite his criticism of Tinubu, Amaechi said he had no personal hatred for the President.

“Nobody hates Tinubu,” he said. “I love Tinubu. He knows.”

The ADC candidate also rejected the suggestion that his criticism of the administration was motivated by personal animosity, maintaining that his concerns were centred on the effect of government policies on Nigerians.

Amaechi was further questioned about corruption allegations associated with the administration of former President Muhammadu Buhari, under whom he served as Transportation Minister.

Responding to the comparison, he said:

“No, that is not as bad as this,” he said. “In fact, there is no corruption here. They are just taking the thing home.”

When reminded that he was part of the Buhari administration, Amaechi challenged anyone accusing him of corruption to substantiate the allegation.

“Have you asked yourself why they are finding it difficult to arrest me?” he asked. “And I’ve been in politics since 1987.”

Asked whether that meant he was not corrupt, Amaechi replied, “Exactly.”

He also recalled an earlier interview in which he was asked whether he was corrupt.

“There was a time when Margot Bell was interviewing me, and she asked, are you corrupt?” he said. “And I said no. And I’m waiting for the person to prove that I was corrupt.”

Amaechi served as governor of Rivers State from 2007 to 2015 before becoming Minister of Transportation under Buhari. He is currently Atiku Abubakar’s running mate on the ADC ticket for the 2027 presidential election.