Mr. Rotimi Amaechi, on his 60th birthday.

 

Mr. Rotimi Amaechi, on his 60th birthday. 
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The president, Atiku Abubakar, the Emir of Kano State, Sanusi Lamido Sanusi, Nobel Laureate Prof. Wole Soyinka, and other dignitaries attended a public lecture in Abuja to honor the former governor of Rivers State, Mr. Rotimi Amaechi, on his 60th birthday. What started as a simple birthday gathering soon turned into a political conference, focusing on the economic policies of President Bola Tinubu's administration. Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar and Malam El-Rufai discussed why they are leading a coalition ahead of the 2027 elections.

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‎"This particular government is weaponizing poverty, which is why we are in this alliance to ensure they do not continue this strategy," Abubakar stated. "We must work together because Nigeria is facing its biggest challenges since 1940. We need to unite to get Nigeria back on track."

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‎The celebrant, Mr. Amaechi, also shared his views on the incumbent government's economic policies. "If I were president, yes, I would pursue some of the policies they are implementing. However, we must acknowledge that the failures fundamentally lie in how the benefits of those policies are distributed. At one point, we were spending close to 4 to 5 trillion naira in oil subsidy payments. Now, they have stopped this; if that spending was directed back into the economy, we wouldn’t be in such distress. We are willing to consider the opposition if they can lead us out of this situation."

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‎The former governor of Bayelsa State, who is currently serving as a senator, advised the leaders of the coalition, saying, "As I arrived here, I noticed many of you have experience in forming coalitions to take over governments, as you did with my party in 2015. Eleven years later, we thought we would have moved past the weaponization of poverty. My advice, as someone who is not a professional coalition builder, is to stay alert as you form this coalition."

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‎Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, El-Rufai, and Rotimi Amaechi were all part of the coalition that ousted the then-ruling People's Democratic Party in 2015. A decade later, political observers are watching closely to see how the landscape will change as the 2027 elections approach.