He’s Of No Electoral Value – Presidency Knocks Amaechi For Saying Only Mad Man Will Vote Tinubu

The Presidency has criticized former Rivers State Governor Rotimi Amaechi over his comment that only people who are mentally unstable would vote for President Bola Tinubu in the 2027 presidential election.

Naija News reports that the Presidency described Amaechi, who is the African Democratic Congress (ADC) vice-presidential candidate, as a liability to the ticket of former Vice President Atiku Abubakar ahead of the next general election.

Amaechi made the controversial statement on Thursday during an ADC town hall meeting in Benin City, Edo State, where he urged residents not to vote for Tinubu in the 2027 presidential election.

During his address, the former Minister of Transportation argued that Nigerians who campaign for Tinubu’s re-election should not be trusted. He also described those who intend to vote for the President as people who are not thinking clearly.

Amaechi said the 2027 election would reveal the number of Nigerians willing to support Tinubu, adding that Edo residents should reject the President at the polls if they wanted to demonstrate sound judgment.

He said: “They are going about saying, vote Tinubu, vote Tinubu; only thieves will vote for Tinubu.

“In fact, I read on social media that it is in 2027 that we will know how many mad men we have in Nigeria because it is only a mad man that can vote for Tinubu.

“If Edo People vote for Tinubu, that means Edo people are mad. If you are not mad, Tinubu should not win here.”

His remarks drew a response from the Presidency, with the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, Temitope Ajayi, questioning the former governor’s conduct and political standing.

Ajayi, who spoke in an interview with Punch on Thursday evening, described Amaechi as a politician who frequently makes careless statements.

He also questioned his judgment and accused him of making irresponsible comments.

He said: “A man who paid thousands of pounds on his daughter’s university education in the UK, who spent tens of millions of naira on himself, and even spent tens of millions of naira on the same woman’s funeral, is telling us that it is because of Tinubu’s policy that he couldn’t buy medication, that his mother died because he couldn’t buy medication. That was a ridiculous statement anybody could make.

“He was DG of Buhari’s campaign two times, but we didn’t get 10 per cent of votes in Rivers State. So he didn’t even know how Buhari won the election in 2015 and 2019. So he just kept blabbing and puffing himself up.

“So what is his electoral value?

“He’s actually a burden on Atiku’s ticket. We really don’t even know why Atiku or the ADC will make such a political lightweight a VP candidate, because he brings no value to Atiku’s ticket.

“He cannot deliver Rivers State; he won’t deliver Rivers State. He can’t deliver South-South, his region. Somebody who probably will not be able to deliver his own polling unit, not to talk of his own ward. So, of what value is he?”