2027: Nigerians must unite to chase out bad govt — Amaechi

A former Minister of Transportation and ex-Governor of Rivers State, Rotimi Amaechi, has called on Nigerians to unite and vote out bad leadership through democratic means in the 2027 general elections, insisting that the country cannot continue to tolerate incompetent governance.

Amaechi made the remarks while delivering a speech at the 21st All Nigeria Editors Conference (ANEC) held in Abuja, where he challenged journalists to revive their watchdog role and speak truth to power without ethnic or political bias.

The former minister expressed disappointment over what he described as a growing culture of silence among journalists despite worsening national conditions, recalling how the media played a decisive role in ending the military dictatorship in Nigeria.

“Are they not the same people that fought with us when we were fighting? What has changed in journalism?” Amaechi asked.

“If anybody says the military was kicked out of government without the journalists, the person is a liar. You played a majority role in what we achieved then”, he noted.

Amaechi questioned the seeming complacency of the media and the public toward governance failures, contrasting the vibrancy of the press during past administrations with the current state of affairs.

“Under President Olusegun Obasanjo, we attacked him for the way he handled the EFCC. We attacked him for everything. But now, nobody is talking,” he lamented.

“Ethnicity has gotten into journalism. Nigerians don’t hate bad government; it’s just that the bad president must come from my area”, he added.

The former governor warned that unless citizens rise above ethnic and political loyalties, Nigeria will continue to recycle poor leadership. He urged the media to lead national conversations that promote accountability and unity rather than sectionalism.

“We must, as Nigerians, agree to chase a government that is bad out of government through legitimate means of election,” Amaechi declared.

Speaking on national cohesion, Amaechi said Nigeria will only attain true nationhood when citizens can live, work, and thrive anywhere in the country, irrespective of ethnic or religious background.

“Nigeria will become a country when anybody from any part of Nigeria can survive in another part. When I can go to Lagos and survive, when you can buy land in Port Harcourt and live freely, when you can go to Kano and worship freely, that is when Nigeria truly becomes one,” he said.

ALSO READ TOP STORIES FROM NIGERIAN TRIBUNE