The All Progressives Congress has accused the African Democratic Congress vice-presidential candidate, Rotimi Amaechi, of seeking the office of vice-president to continue benefiting from public resources.
The APC, in a statement issued on Sunday by its National Publicity Secretary, Felix Morka, also criticised the former Rivers State governor over his recent claim that the rising cost of medicines under the President Bola Tinubu administration made it difficult for his family to care for his late mother.
Amaechi had, during an interview on Channels Television’s Politics Today on Friday, said his mother was healthy before Tinubu assumed office but that the rising cost of drugs subsequently made it difficult for the family to provide her medication.
“Because policies are killing people. I’ve lost my mother. Before Tinubu, my mother was healthy. Suddenly, by the time Tinubu came, it was difficult to buy drugs for my mother,” Amaechi said.
Reacting, the APC described the former governor’s comments as evidence of his alleged inability to sustain himself and his family outside public office.
The ruling party also referenced an earlier statement attributed to Amaechi that he had become so financially constrained that his wife was feeding him.
“Rotimi Amaechi’s uncanny confessions must not be missed. First, he howled that he had become so broke and hungry that his wife was now feeding him. Now, he has stated that his inability to afford medications killed his mother at 89,” the APC said.
The party questioned how Amaechi, who had occupied several public offices, including Speaker of the Rivers State House of Assembly, governor and Minister of Transportation, could claim he was unable to afford medication for his mother.
“For four decades, Rotimi Amaechi freeloaded at the highest levels of public office,” the party alleged.
The APC further accused Amaechi of seeking the ADC vice-presidential ticket in the 2027 election to return to a life dependent on public resources.
“The same Rotimi Amaechi now asks Nigerians to make him vice president come 2027 so he can continue leeching on public treasury and keep the predatory lifestyle he has grown accustomed to,” the party said.
The APC then issued a blunt warning over Amaechi’s ambition, declaring that the presidency should not be used as a means of personal sustenance.
“The presidency is not a soup kitchen, and will not be a soup kitchen for Rotimi Amaechi,” the party said.
The APC also maintained that Amaechi’s own comments had raised questions about his suitability for the vice-presidential position.
“There can be no better speaker of Rotimi Amaechi’s unfitness for the office of vice president than Rotimi Amaechi himself,” Morka said.
However, the party’s statement came in response to Amaechi’s criticism of the economic impact of the Tinubu administration’s policies, particularly the rising cost of medicines, which he linked to his family’s difficulty in caring for his late mother.
