Former Minister of Transportation Rotimi Amaechi has challenged former Vice President Atiku Abubakar to face him in the presidential primaries of the African Democratic Congress, insisting that zoning should not determine the party’s candidate.
Amaechi made the remarks on Monday during an interview on Trust TV while speaking about his readiness for the party’s primary election.
The former Rivers State governor said Atiku had publicly stated that he does not support zoning, adding that the best option would be for all aspirants to test their popularity at the primaries.
“Atiku said he does not like zoning, so let’s go to the primaries,” Amaechi stated.
He also expressed hope that the former vice president would, for the first time, lose a primary election.
“I heard him say he has never failed in a primary before. I hope this will be the first time he fails the primaries,” he added.
Amaechi, however, argued that winning party primaries had not translated into electoral victory for Atiku in past presidential contests.
“That is not even the issue. The issue is that each time he won the primaries, he did not win the main election,” he said.
The ADC chieftain further urged politicians to avoid divisive regional politics, stressing that leadership should be driven by national interest rather than North-South considerations.
According to him, he has consistently rejected ethnic-based politics and would rather emulate former President Olusegun Obasanjo, whom he described as a nationalist.
“You may like him or not, but Obasanjo was a Nigerian president, not a Yoruba president,” Amaechi said.
Reacting to a question on the possibility of another aspirant, Mohammed Hayatu-Deen, stepping down for Atiku, Amaechi simply wished
