TheCable

Rotimi Amaechi, minister of transportation, has asked delegates of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Lagos to be impartial when choosing who to vote for during the party’s presidential primary.

Amaechi said this on Thursday during a meeting with the APC delegates in Lagos state.

On April 9, the minister declared his intention to run for the office of president, describing his decision as a “moral duty to give what I can in the service of my country”.

Months prior, Bola Tinubu, a former Lagos governor and an APC chieftain, had announced his “lifelong” ambition to lead the country.

Highlighting his achievements as minister and former governor of Rivers, Amaechi said he has the needed experience to lead the country.

“I have come to talk to your conscience because this is about Nigeria; it’s not about my father, my brother, but about a nation,” he said.

“I served as a governor in a state where people were being killed, kidnapped; robbery was on the increase and people couldn’t go out in Port Harcourt. Parties weren’t going on; health sector was in a problem. In six months, I opened up the city and chased away the criminals, got people back on their feet and got people to go back to work, parties and to do whatever they wanted to do.

“So, I am the only aspirant of the party that does not only come with experience, but has served in a state where what is facing us now has faced us in that state.

“The first issue is economic prosperity. When I was governor of Rivers state, I said ‘if you don’t provide the people with a legal means of livelihood, they will provide themselves an illegal means of livelihood’. So, I’m experienced in that regard — in finding solutions to insecurity.

“At the national level, I’ve served seven years as minister for transport. If you were in Lagos when we were constructing the Lagos-Ibadan rail, you’ll know that I’m not a big-man minister. I wasn’t in the office. I was coming here once every month and I would sleep here. Ask those who worked with me. I would trek 17km screaming at contractors, giving them timelines. And we delivered this Lagos-Ibadan rail at the right time.

“If you honestly want to look at someone who is detribalised and you keep away sectional sentiments. Let your conscience persuade you.”

Responding to a question from a Lagos APC member on if he would withdraw his ambition if asked to do so by the party, Amaechi said he will align with whatever the party decides.

“The party is supreme. Whatever the party decides, I will do it. But I have a question for all of you: ‘will you vote according to your conscience?’ What separates me from all of you is that I have courage,” he said.

“When we were supporting the president, majority of the south-south people were on one side, but I took the interest of the country. I was scared of a civil war; I was scared of a crisis, and I wanted to address all that and I separated myself from my people to just move forward to get peace.

“I hope that all of us will take up that same courage and vote according to our conscience.”