By: Ganiyu Olayinka
Former Transportation Minister and prospective vice-presidential nominee, Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi, is set to head the presidential campaign organisation of Atiku Abubakar under the African Democratic Congress (ADC).
The decision to appoint the former presidential aspirant as Director-General of the ADC Presidential Campaign Organisation is said to be part of Abubakar’s plans to deliver a reformed presidency if elected in the January 16, 2027 presidential election.
According to a reliable source, Amaechi was considered for the role partly because no sitting state governor in the ADC was available for the position, and partly because of his experience steering a similar campaign in 2015, when he helped deliver the late Muhammadu Buhari’s historic defeat of then-incumbent President Goodluck Jonathan.
The Guardian learned that part of the case made to convince the former minister to accept the vice-presidential slot was an offer of a free hand to play wide-ranging roles both during the campaign and in the reformed presidency being designed by the former vice president.
The source, a former ranking senator and ambassador, said that having observed the strained relationships between past presidents and their deputies since 2007, Atiku believes Nigeria’s presidency is overdue for reform.
“From [President Umaru] Yar’Adua through [Dr Goodluck] Jonathan and Buhari, the last three years under Bola Tinubu have exposed the imperfections of the Nigerian presidency,” the source said. “Atiku believes that while the US presidency assigns clear constitutional roles to the vice president, the Nigerian counterpart serves at the whims of the president. So, in the absence of such constitutional provisions, Atiku wants to forge a partnership presidency, with Amaechi taking charge of key functions.”
The source added that the former vice president’s thinking on the proposed changes is shaped by his experience during President Obasanjo’s second term, when cooperation gave way to friction and confrontation. “Atiku wants to turn that experience to his running mate’s benefit, to ensure the fears and suspicions that breed adversarial relationships between a president and his deputy do not arise. He wants to be the kind of president who acknowledges that the office is one big room with two big doors — which is why he has said the vice president should be neither a spare tyre nor a tea-server.”
The Guardian was also informed that former Sokoto State governor, Senator Aminu Waziri Tambuwal who had himself been considered as a possible running mate for Amaechi will likely serve as Deputy Director-General of the Atiku/Amaechi Presidential Campaign Organisation.
“When the vice-presidential nominee is officially named this coming week, and by the time the campaign organisation is constituted, Nigerians will see how prepared the former vice president is to rescue the country and strengthen the foundation for a true presidential system,” the source said. A member of the ADC Policy Committee, Dr Salihu Lukman, has previously disclosed that the party plans to adopt a collegiate system of administration to avoid the winner-takes-all tendencies that have plagued successive presidencies. Lukman noted that some of the policy reforms envisaged by the ADC would ensure party leadership remains strong enough to guide both the executive