African Democratic Congress vice presidential candidate Rotimi Amaechi has launched a blistering attack on President Bola Tinubu’s economic policies, alleging that the hardship created by the administration contributed to the death of his mother.
Amaechi made the claim during an interview on Channels Television, where he criticized the removal of petrol subsidy, rising living costs and the wider economic direction of the government.
The former Rivers State governor said his mother had been healthy before Tinubu became President but claimed that increasing costs subsequently made it more difficult to purchase the medication she required.
Amaechi directly blamed the administration’s policies for her death.
The allegation represents Amaechi’s personal assessment of the circumstances surrounding his mother’s death and does not by itself establish a medical connection between government economic policy and her death.
Amaechi argued that the removal of petrol subsidy was presented as a reform that would ultimately improve living standards but said Nigerians had instead experienced greater economic hardship.
He challenged the government over claims of improvement in petrol prices and made an extraordinary political pledge.
Amaechi said he would withdraw as Atiku Abubakar’s running mate and campaign for Tinubu if he personally visited a filling station and found petrol selling for N600 per litre.
He said he was prepared to make the visit in the presence of television cameras to establish the actual price.
Amaechi also framed the approaching 2027 presidential contest in stark terms, accusing the Tinubu administration of pursuing policies that he said had placed Nigerians under severe economic pressure.
He went further by alleging that corruption under the current administration was worse than during the government of former President Muhammadu Buhari.
Amaechi served as Minister of Transportation under Buhari.
Asked whether he was personally involved in corruption during that administration, Amaechi denied the suggestion and insisted that he had stayed away from corrupt practices.
He also criticized the Tinubu administration’s infrastructure record and challenged the government to identify major projects it had completed since taking office.
Amaechi specifically referred to the Lagos Calabar Coastal Highway while questioning the cost and delivery of major infrastructure projects.
The former minister’s claims are part of an increasingly confrontational political debate ahead of the 2027 presidential election.
Several of the accusations made during the interview are political allegations and were not accompanied in the material reviewed by Xposure News with responses from the Presidency.
For voters, however, the broader argument raised by Amaechi touches on what is likely to become one of the defining questions of the 2027 campaign: whether the economic reforms introduced since 2023 have created a credible foundation for recovery or imposed costs on Nigerian households that outweigh the benefits claimed by the government.
