A former aide to Nigeria’s ex‑president, Bashir Ahmad, has publicly rebuked African Democratic Congress (ADC) vice‑presidential candidate Rotimi Amaechi for blaming former President Muhammadu Buhari for the outcome of the 2023 presidential election. Ahmad said Amaemi should accept responsibility for his own political decisions rather than shift the blame to a leader who is no longer alive to respond.
Amaemi had earlier expressed regret that he had followed Buhari’s advice not to campaign during the All Progressives Congress (APC) presidential primaries in 2022. He disclosed that Buhari had explicitly instructed him to refrain from campaigning or negotiating with delegates, promising instead that Buhari would personally announce him as the party’s consensus candidate.
In a post on the social‑media platform X, Ahmad wrote that “President Buhari was a leader who respected party processes and democratic competition.” He added that suggesting a private promise could alone explain the “complex political realities” of the APC contest was insufficient.
Ahmad continued, urging Amaemi to “take responsibility for your own political choices, not retrospectively shifting the blame to a former president, his former boss, who is no longer here to respond.” The former aide’s remarks highlight ongoing tensions over the internal dynamics of Nigeria’s ruling party during the 2022 primaries.
For context, Muhammadu Buhari served as Nigeria’s president from 2015 to 2023, leading the APC, while the ADC is a smaller opposition party. The 2023 election ultimately saw APC candidate Bola Tinubu elected president, ending the contest that Amaemi and Buhari had discussed during the primaries.
<small>Source: Daily Post Nigeria — read the original story there.</small>
