***Says Those Who Killed Buhari’s Electoral Reform Now Cry for Change
Former Minister of Transportation and ex-Rivers State Governor, Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi, has urged Nigerians to stop waiting for the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) or the National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS) to fight for electoral reform, insisting that both institutions “no longer exist in the way they used to.”
Speaking at the National Electoral Reform Summit in Abuja, Amaechi said only citizens’ sustained pressure and participation can compel politicians to deliver genuine reform.
“Will government give you reform? No. Don’t wait for NLC or NANS — they no longer exist the way they used to,” Amaechi declared. “Reform will not come from politicians; it will come from you, the citizens.”
Amaechi accused the political elite of hypocrisy, alleging that many of those now leading reform campaigns were the same individuals who stopped former President Muhammadu Buhari from signing the Electoral Amendment Bill during his tenure.
“When we were in government, Buhari swore that one legacy he would leave behind was electoral reform — a system where every vote would count,” he said. “But some politicians pressured him not to sign the bill. Today, those same people are shouting for reform. That’s hypocrisy.”
He lamented that Nigeria continues to recycle the same class of leaders who only demand justice when out of power.
“If tomorrow President Tinubu and his people lose an election, they will become the loudest voices for reform,” Amaechi warned. “It’s the same pattern — support reform only when it serves their interest.”
The former minister described the refusal to sign the electoral reform bill as one of Buhari’s biggest political mistakes.
“That singular act denied Nigeria the opportunity to build a fair, transparent, and credible electoral system. If he had signed it, we wouldn’t still be here debating reform today,” he said.
Amaechi called on Nigerians to reject apathy and take ownership of the democratic process.
“When you say results are already written, you are spreading fear,” he told participants. “If citizens come out in their numbers, no one can steal the result. The real power lies with the people, not politicians.”
His remarks drew strong reactions from participants, many of whom agreed that Nigeria’s democracy can only thrive when citizens—not political elites—drive the demand for accountability and reform.