A retired Superintendent Route Commander of the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC), Evangelist Ameh Itodo Ameh, has mounted an audacious challenge to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s expected re-election bid, calling on the All Progressives Congress (APC) to deny the incumbent a second-term ticket and instead present him as the party’s presidential candidate in 2027.
In a political declaration titled **”Change Tinubu to AMITO Come 2027,”** Ameh argued that the ruling party should draw lessons from the United States, where then-President Joe Biden ended his 2024 re-election campaign after growing concerns within the Democratic Party about his electoral viability following a widely criticised debate performance.
According to the retired FRSC commander, political parties should place national interest above loyalty to an incumbent by presenting what they consider the strongest candidate for election.
“I am about to do something unusual in our democracy—and perhaps in the world—by challenging an incumbent president in his own political party,” Ameh declared.
“Nobody is ready to tell Tinubu the truth.”
Ameh said his decision to seek the APC presidential ticket was driven by what he described as Nigeria’s worsening economic hardship and persistent insecurity, which he argued require a new direction in leadership.
He criticised the Federal Government’s removal of fuel subsidy shortly after President Tinubu assumed office in May 2023, contending that the administration failed to anticipate the economic consequences of the policy.
Using Sir Isaac Newton’s Third Law of Motion as an analogy, he argued that every government action produces consequences, maintaining that the subsequent introduction of a ₦70,000 national minimum wage did not adequately cushion the impact of inflation and the rising cost of living on Nigerian workers.
According to him, a significantly higher minimum wage would have provided greater relief to households already grappling with soaring prices and declining purchasing power.
The Benue-born aspirant also expressed concern over the country’s security challenges, arguing that Nigerians deserved leadership capable of restoring peace and confidence across the country.
Presenting himself under the acronym **AMITO**, Ameh said he was offering Nigerians what he described as a credible alternative, insisting that he possesses practical solutions to the nation’s economic and security problems.
He also revived the debate over power rotation, arguing that the North-Central geopolitical zone has never produced an elected civilian president since Nigeria returned to democratic rule in 1999, and said his aspiration represents an opportunity to address what he described as a longstanding political imbalance.
Ameh lamented the high cost of seeking elective office, noting that the APC presidential nomination form sold for ₦100 million in 2023 and expressing concern that the price could rise significantly ahead of the 2027 election.
In an unconventional fundraising appeal, he called on Nigerians to contribute ₦20 each to support his presidential ambition, saying millions of small donations would enable ordinary citizens to finance a viable campaign without dependence on wealthy political sponsors.
The retired FRSC officer, who identified himself as an evangelist, also cited biblical passages, including John 14:14 and Proverbs 29:2, as the spiritual inspiration for his ambition, urging Nigerians to pray for what he described as righteous leadership.
Although President Tinubu has been received overwhelming support to fly the party’s flag forsecond term, Ameh’s declaration is strange call from within APC circles urging the party to consider a different presidential candidate. His intervention also introduces into Nigeria’s political discourse a comparison with the U.S. Democratic Party’s handling of Biden’s 2024 campaign, arguing that political parties should be willing to reassess an incumbent’s candidacy when, in their view, circumstances demand it.
