Former Minister of Transportation, Rotimi Amaechi, has declared his willingness to serve only one term as president if he secures the African Democratic Congress (ADC) presidential ticket for the 2027 general election.
Speaking on Channels Television’s Politics Today on Thursday, Amaechi affirmed his commitment to Nigeria’s unwritten rotational presidency agreement, which he believes is critical to maintaining national stability.
“For now, the way Nigeria is, you must keep to that unwritten agreement that says south eight years, north eight years,” he said. “I led a fight against the PDP government because there was an agreement that the government at that time would spend four years, but after four years, the government reneged. That would have led to instability.”
When asked directly if he would do only one term in office, Amaechi responded: “Of course.”
He explained that while his ambition to run for president remains intact, the current coalition agreement among opposition leaders requires individual ambitions to be put aside for now.
“If not for the coalition agreement, the answer to whether I’ll run would have been an outright yes,” he said. “But we all agreed: let’s first build the platform before talking about the presidency.”
Amaechi’s remarks come just days after he joined other key political figures including Peter Obi, Atiku Abubakar, Nasir El-Rufai, and Rauf Aregbesola in unveiling the ADC as the platform for the opposition coalition’s 2027 efforts.
Obi, the Labour Party’s 2023 presidential candidate, had similarly said he would serve a single term if elected in 2027.
Amaechi, who served as minister under President Muhammadu Buhari, also used the interview to draw a sharp contrast between the Buhari administration and the current government led by President Bola Tinubu.
“Buhari will tell you he didn’t achieve everything, but his government was better than this one by all standards,” he stated. “Security under Buhari was a priority. Transportation saw progress. INEC had more independence.”
He accused the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) of now taking direct instructions from government officials, preventing registration of new political parties.
“Today, they can’t even register a party because government officials are telling INEC not to. How is INEC an umpire when it takes instructions from the government?” he questioned.
Reflecting on his time as Governor of Rivers State and former chairman of the Nigeria Governors’ Forum (NGF), Amaechi criticised the erosion of governors’ independence in today’s political environment.
“When I heard the president wanted to appoint a chairman for the Governors’ Forum, I almost collapsed,” he said. “We demanded an election and I won 19 votes to Jang’s 16. Back then, governors had a voice. Now? They don’t.”
Amaechi also defended Buhari’s borrowing policy, saying the former president was conservative with loans and often rejected proposals that weren’t tied to critical infrastructure.
“Buhari once rejected a minister’s loan proposal at FEC and insisted only key ministries like transport should access credit,” he noted. As the opposition coalition gains momentum with the ADC at its core, Amaechi’s public commitment to serve only one term adds a new dimension to the emerging political strategy ahead of 2027.
