Campaign posters of the Minister of Transportation Rt. Hon. Chibuike
Rotimi Amaechi for President ahead of the 2023 Presidential election
have flooded Abuja streets.
The posters also had the face of Mallam Nasir Elrufai, the Governor of
Kaduna State as the running mate and Vice Presidential candidate.
One of the posters was titled “the People’s choice” while another had
the message “Today may not be the best, but tomorrow will be better”.
All the posters show they are being sponsored by the National
Consolidation Movement but they did not have the logo of any political
parties.
While speaking with our correspondent who went to town to interview a
cross-section of Nigerians on the emergence of the posters, Dr. Doyin
Anifowose who is a political scientist said the messages on the posters
wowed Nigerians by tactically attempting to isolate both men on the
posters from the alleged failures of the Buhari government. He wondered
why top members of the ruling party would still be talking about a
better tomorrow if today is not the best it can be.
Dr. Anifowose also opined that this type of move is typical of a
high-end campaign strategy where a campaign research group could test
the acceptability of the candidate especially in the mood the nation is
currently. “The country is in a low mood now with the events following
the EndSARS protests and the massive nationwide looting of palliative
warehouses.
The prices of goods and in particular food items have skyrocketed in the
markets hence a campaign organization can truly check the acceptability
of their principal. This is the best mood to know what the people truly
feel about any aspirant and that the logo of their political not being
on it is to be present it as judge me not by my Party” Dr. Anifowose
added.
He continued “Not using the political party logo in a campaign test such
as this could also help a campaign research group know if the aspirant
is popular enough to even leave the party and contest the election on
another political party platform as I believe their field officers would
be on the streets sampling opinions of the people and on issues
concerning the aspirant.”
At the APC National Secretariat, many of the staff refused to speak to
record but a few of those who spoke off-camera believe the pasting of
posters at this time for whatever political purpose was clearly an act
of desperation, a violation of the nation’s electoral laws and capable
of distracting President Muhammadu Buhari from tackling the challenges
facing the country.
The posters at this time are capable of igniting more political tension
at a time the government is struggling to calm tension and solve
pressing needs.
Both Hon. Chibuike Amaechi and Mallam Elrufai are members of the ruling
APC. Since the return of the country to democracy in 1999, Hon. Amaechi
is one of the very few Nigerians who has not been out of political and
public office.
He was a member and Speaker of the Rivers State House of Assembly from
1999 to 2007 after which he was sworn in as Governor of the State
following his victory at the Supreme Court which declared him as the
rightful candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party and there removed
Chief Celestine Omehia from office.
In 2014 he joined the All Progressives Congress with four other
governors of the PDP and was appointed Minister of Transportation in
2015 following the victory of President Muhammadu Buhari at the polls.
He was reappointed to the same position for a second term by President
Muhammadu Buhari.
In both the 2015 and 2019 elections, Hon. Amechi served as the
Director-General of the President’s campaign and is said to be one of
the Ministers who are extremely close to the President and has direct
access to him.
During the battle to remove Comrade Adams Oshiomhole from office as APC
National Chairman, many political watchers believed that Chibuike Amechi
had a hand in it as Mr. Victor Giadom the arrowhead in the fight and
former assistant Secretary-General of the PArty who obtained the Court
order to be Acting National Chairman summoned the NEC meeting was the
National Working Committee of the Party was sacked is a loyalist of the
Hon. Minister.
Also, the Minister presided, as the leader of the Party in the
South-South, over a meeting held in Edo State were leaders of the Party
from the South-South resolved that Oshiomhole was sacked from the Party
and would not b their Chairman.
Rt. Hon Chibuike Amechi is obviously one of the frontline aspirants for
the country’s top job though he has not publicly declared his interest
in the job. Having Mallam Elrufai on the ticket makes it all the more
formidable as the diminutive Kaduna Governor is massively popular in the
North and also wields a lot of influence in the Party and in the
Presidential Villa.
