Former Minister of Transportation, Rotimi Amaechi, has reignited debate over who truly delivered the historic 2015 presidential victory of late former President Muhammadu Buhari, openly challenging President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s long-standing claim that he was chiefly responsible for Buhari’s emergence.
Amaechi, who served as Director-General of Buhari’s 2015 presidential campaign, insisted that the victory was the product of collective political sacrifices within the All Progressives Congress and not the achievement of one individual.
Speaking during an interview on Arise Television, the former Rivers State governor pushed back against repeated assertions by Tinubu that Buhari would never have become president without his intervention and political support.
According to Amaechi, several influential political actors worked tirelessly to build the coalition that eventually defeated the then-ruling Peoples Democratic Party in what became Nigeria’s first successful opposition takeover at the presidential level.
“When we decided to form the APC, while I was a minister, President Tinubu was claiming he made Buhari president, and I couldn’t respond because I was the minister under President Buhari,” Amaechi said.
“That will be suicidal because Buhari could fire you. So I couldn’t have said no then. He wasn’t the president. I couldn’t tell him, ‘You are wrong. You didn’t make President Buhari president.’”
Amaechi maintained that his own contribution to the 2015 campaign was substantial, stressing that he coordinated nationwide mobilisation efforts and spearheaded political engagements across the country.
“Not only was I the DG of the campaign, but everybody will bear witness that I did all the battle,” he declared.
The former minister also recalled his role as Chairman of the Nigeria Governors’ Forum at the time, saying he travelled extensively across the country rallying governors and political stakeholders behind Buhari and the APC’s “change” agenda.
“I led the governors’ forum. I crisscrossed the country fighting here and there,” he added.
Amaechi’s remarks are widely seen as reopening old fault lines within the APC over ownership of Buhari’s 2015 victory and the internal power dynamics that shaped the party’s rise to national dominance.
The comments also come amid increasing political realignments ahead of the 2027 general election, with several former APC powerbrokers repositioning themselves within Nigeria’s evolving opposition landscape.
Meanwhile, former Anambra State governor Peter Obi has dismissed speculation that he is distancing himself from former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar ahead of the 2027 elections.
Speaking on the sidelines of the Spier Dialogue 2026 in Cape Town, South Africa, Obi insisted that his relationship with Atiku remains cordial despite recent political shifts involving both men.
“There are very few human beings who are as close as I am to Atiku. So I can’t be running from him. This man is my very respected leader and elder brother,” Obi said.
Obi’s remarks follow months of speculation over opposition coalition talks and the collapse of earlier political alignments involving the African Democratic Congress before both Obi and Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso moved into the Nigeria Democratic Congress political platform.
The latest developments have further intensified conversations around opposition strategies, coalition politics, and the battle for influence ahead of the 2027 presidential race.
Amaechi Reopens APC Power Struggle, Counters Tinubu’s Claim Over Buhari’s 2015 Victory
