Vice-presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), Rotimi Amaechi, has challenged President Bola Tinubu to reduce the pump price of petrol to ₦600 per litre, saying he would withdraw from the ADC presidential ticket and campaign for the president if the target is achieved.
Amaechi, a former Rivers State governor and Minister of Transportation, made the statement on Friday while reacting to Tinubu’s Independence Day address and the president’s declaration that Nigeria had entered an “age of prosperity.”
Speaking on Channels Television’s Politics Today, Amaechi questioned whether the economic reforms of the Tinubu administration had translated into lower prices and improved living conditions for Nigerians.
He said the credibility of the government’s claims should be measured against the experiences of ordinary Nigerians, particularly the cost of transportation and other basic necessities.
“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 asked whether the cost of transportation and other essential commodities had declined as a result of the government’s economic reforms.
“Have you asked one of your staff who goes by transport how much it costs from Yanya to Abuja? Has anything come down?
“Has any price come down? Has anything changed?” he asked.
Using the price of petrol as a benchmark for assessing the administration’s economic performance, Amaechi said he would personally visit a filling station to verify whether the product had fallen 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.
Amaechi further challenged anyone who doubted his pledge to accompany him to a filling station and record the purchase.
“If you doubt me, come with your camera to my house, and I will go to the filling station and buy fuel, and 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 is the vice-presidential candidate of the ADC on the ticket with former Vice President Atiku Abubakar for the 2027 presidential election.
