● Urges former governor to quit ADC vice-presidential ticket
● Says backing Atiku contradicts Amaechi’s earlier position on power rotation
● Declares support for Tinubu’s re-election
By PHC Telegraph
Senator Magnus Abe has challenged former Rivers State Governor, Rt. Hon. Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi, to withdraw from the African Democratic Congress presidential ticket, abandon his support for Atiku Abubakar and back President Bola Tinubu’s re-election.
Abe’s argument is that Amaechi should uphold the same North–South power rotation principle which, according to him, the former governor invoked when opposing President Goodluck Jonathan’s re-election.
Speaking on Tuesday, October 27, at the unveiling of Rainbow Coalition candidates at the Yakubu Gowon Stadium, Port Harcourt, Abe accused the ADC vice-presidential candidate of departing from his earlier position.
Abe, Chairman of the Board of the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission, maintained that the presidency should remain in the South in 2027.
Recalling the political disagreements preceding Jonathan’s departure from office, Abe said Amaechi had urged his supporters to respect an unwritten understanding that presidential power should alternate between northern and southern Nigeria.
According to Abe’s account, Amaechi argued at the time that allowing Jonathan to continue would undermine that understanding and weaken the future presidential prospects of minority groups.
Abe contended that supporting Atiku, a northerner, while serving as his running mate contradicted the position Amaechi had previously persuaded others to accept.
He urged Amaechi to “respect his own position and resign as the vice presidential candidate to Atiku Abubakar”.
The senator also directed his appeal to Atiku, asking the former vice-president to respect the rotation arrangement and allow the South to retain the presidency.
His preferred southern candidate was clear: Tinubu, whose re-election the Rainbow Coalition is supporting. Abe declared his alignment with the coalition and its presidential choice.
The intervention places political consistency at the centre of Abe’s challenge to Amaechi. His contention is that the principle advanced against Jonathan should also guide the former governor’s decision in the present contest.
The ADC, however, has presented a different argument for its presidential pairing. In its announcement of Amaechi’s selection, the party described the Atiku–Amaechi ticket as a partnership offering experience, national reach and representation across regional divides.
It said Amaechi’s record in legislative and executive office, alongside his political influence in southern Nigeria, would strengthen its presidential campaign. That announcement preceded Abe’s remarks and was not a response to his criticism.
