I Will Dump Atiku, ADC Campaign For Tinubu If Petrol Drops To ₦600/Litre — Amaechi | Sahara Reporters

The ADC formally nominated Amaechi as Atiku’s running mate and uploaded their particulars to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) ahead of the 2027 election.

Former Minister of Transportation and vice-presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), Rotimi Amaechi, has said he will dump the ADC presidential candidate Atiku Abubakar, withdraw from the 2027 presidential race and campaign for President Bola Tinubu if the price of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS), popularly known as petrol, drops to ₦600 per litre.

Amaechi made the statement on Friday, October 2, 2026, during an interview on Channels TV programme.

The ADC formally nominated Amaechi as Atiku’s running mate and uploaded their particulars to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) ahead of the 2027 election.

“If fuel comes down to 600 tomorrow, I will campaign for President Tinubu,” Amaechi said.

“Tomorrow, if you doubt, come with your camera in the morning in the house, and I will go to the fuel station, and I will buy fuel.

“If fuel has come down, if it comes down to this, I, Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi, will withdraw as the vice-presidential candidate of Atiku and campaign for President Tinubu, if it has come down.”

The former governor of Rivers State was responding to questions about the Tinubu administration’s economic reforms and the effect of the removal of the petrol subsidy on Nigerians.

He argued that Nigerians were struggling with the rising cost of living, transportation, accommodation, healthcare and other necessities despite government measures and the increase in the minimum wage.

Amaechi said some workers earning ₦70,000 monthly were spending almost the same amount on transportation.

“I have my wife, I have staff in her shop, and they’re asking for a salary increase,” he said. “Do you know why they’re asking for a salary increase?

“Transport from where they live to the 70,000 Naira you pay them in a month as wage, as their income. Transport alone takes N65,000.”

He also questioned the effect of rising rents and other household expenses on Nigerians.

“What about house rent?” Amaechi asked. “That loan has increased its rent by 300%. I have somebody call me up in Lagos and tell me they’ve increased my leasing by 100%.”

According to him, the government’s increase in workers’ earnings is being eroded by taxes and the rising cost of living.

“So, government increases your salary to 70,000, introduces taxes that take away over 60 to 70%,” he said.

Amaechi also raised concerns about Nigerians struggling to afford medical treatment and medicines, saying he had received requests from people seeking financial assistance to pay their medical bills.

“How many people have died because they can’t afford drugs?” he asked. “How many people have called me, sent me texts asking me to pay for their drugs? And I’m not able to pay because I have my children, I have my siblings to take care of.”

Amaechi also delivered a stark assessment of the 2027 election, framing it as a choice between survival and what he described as death under a second Tinubu administration.

“The people have not two choices, one choice to make, the choice to be alive, because Tinubu presents the choice of death,” Amaechi said.

He added that the election should first be viewed from the perspective of Nigerians’ ability to survive economically before regional, ethnic or other considerations.

“If you vote for Tinubu, first, before you even talk about the country, before you talk about the north, before you talk about the south, or east, or west, or the region, you must learn that the first thing is that you must be alive,” he said.

“And most people won’t be alive if Tinubu wins their second tenure. Tinubu will not win this election because there may not be a Nigeria if he wins the election.”

Asked why, Amaechi replied, “The people are tired. They are hungry. The president can only help them by giving them food.”

His comments came a day after Atiku criticised the Tinubu administration, accusing it of worsening poverty and urging Nigerians to use the 2027 election to choose a different government.

President Tinubu, however, has defended his administration’s economic reforms, saying in his October 1 Independence Day address that the measures were beginning to produce prosperity and rejecting calls to return to fuel subsidies.

Fuel prices have remained a major political issue ahead of the 2027 election.

It was reported in September that petrol was selling at about ₦1400 per litre in Lagos and Abuja and as high as ₦1500 in some parts of northern Nigeria.

Despite his criticism of the Tinubu administration, Amaechi said he did not personally hate Tinubu and claimed the president was aware of his feelings towards him.

He maintained, however, that the administration must address the economic hardship confronting Nigerians.

Amaechi also rejected suggestions that his criticism of Tinubu was based on personal animosity, insisting that his focus was on the effect of government policies on ordinary Nigerians.

The ADC vice-presidential candidate was also questioned about corruption allegations linked to the administration of former President Muhammadu Buhari, in which he served as Transportation Minister.

When challenged that he had served eight years under Buhari and that there had been corruption allegations against the Buhari government, Amaechi rejected the comparison.

“No, that is not as bad as this,” he said. “In fact, there is no corruption here. They are just taking the thing home.”

When reminded that he was part of the Buhari government, Amaechi challenged those alleging corruption againt him to prove their claims.

“Have you asked yourself why they are finding it difficult to arrest me?” he asked. “And I’ve been in politics since 1987.”

When asked whether that meant he was not corrupt, Amaechi replied, “Exactly.” He recalled a previous interview in which he was asked whether he was corrupt.

“There was a time when Margot Bell was interviewing me, and she asked, are you corrupt?” he said. “And I said no. And I’m waiting for the person to prove that I was corrupt.”

Amaechi, who served as Rivers State governor from 2007 to 2015 before becoming Transportation Minister under Buhari, is now campaigning alongside Atiku on the ADC platform ahead of the 2027 presidential election.