Vice-presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress, Rotimi Amaechi, has challenged President Bola Tinubu to reduce the price of petrol to ₦600 per litre, saying he would campaign for the President in the 2027 election if the target is achieved.
Amaechi made the declaration while reacting to Tinubu’s Independence Day address and the President’s assertion that Nigeria had entered an “age of prosperity” during an interview on Channels Television’s Politics Today on Friday.
Questioning the claim of economic progress, the former Rivers State governor said Nigerians should judge the government’s reforms by their impact on the cost of living, particularly transportation and fuel prices.
“It is about believability; who do you believe? Go to the 2005 Presidential speech; it is the same: we have turned the page, and we are about to start enjoyment,” Amaechi said.
He questioned whether the economic reforms had translated into lower prices for ordinary Nigerians, asking, “Has any price come down, has anything changed?”
Amaechi specifically cited transportation costs, asking whether the cost of travelling from Nyanya to Abuja had fallen despite the government’s economic claims.
“Have you asked one of your staff who goes by transport, how much it costs from Nyanya to Abuja? Has anything come down?” he asked.
Using petrol prices as a measure of the government’s economic performance, Amaechi said he was prepared to personally visit a filling station to establish whether the price had dropped to ₦600 per litre.
“I will go tomorrow morning to the petrol station to buy fuel, I will go myself, if fuel has come down to 600, I will campaign for President Tinubu,” he said.
He went further, challenging anyone who doubted his pledge to accompany him with a camera to a filling station, where he said he would personally purchase the product.
“If you doubt me, come with your camera to my house, and I will go to the filling station and buy fuel,” Amaechi said.
He added that he would withdraw from the ADC presidential ticket on which he is running alongside former Vice President Atiku Abubakar and support Tinubu if petrol fell to the stated price.
“I, Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi, will withdraw as a vice presidential candidate of Atiku and campaign for President Tinubu, if it has come down,” he said.
Amaechi’s comments come amid preparations by political parties and their candidates for the 2027 presidential election, with the cost of living and fuel prices remaining major issues in the political debate.
