A former Minister of Transportation and presidential aspirant of the All Progressives Congress, Rotimi Amaechi has been slammed over his statement on Monday insisting that the outcome of the All Progressives Congress presidential primaries was influenced by delegates who were bribed.
Amaechi also claimed that the said delegates were now regretting their decision.
Reacting to his statement, some APC supporters and party chieftains berated the former governor, insisting that his claims come from a place of frustration after losing in the primaries.
Director-General of Asiwaju Tinubu Presidential Campaign Organisation, Adebayo Shittu, said he found the utterances of Amaechi unbelievable.
He said, “Who is regretting what? Can Amaechi isolate himself from those he claimed to have induced delegates for votes? He, just like other aspirants at the APC primaries, cannot point fingers at others without implicating themselves.
“What does he mean by delegates are regretting they collected bribes for votes? Is he indirectly saying the governors who brought them collected bribes and expressing regret too? I wish to have an opportunity to square up with him on this kind of issues.”
“Amaechi’s outburst, just like few other noticeable ones, were obviously done out of frustration. I understand that when one loses an election, one is bound to hold grudges. You can’t rule that out. After all, we are human beings and Nigerians.
The Ekiti State Coordinator of Tinubu Support Organisation, Gabriel Babalola also condemned Amaechi’s statement, explaining that Tinubu worked hard for his success at the primaries.
“Before any of them could wake up, Asiwaju had gone from state to state, from one traditional ruler to another asking for their support.
“How many traditional rulers did Amaechi visit before the convention? How many states did he visit? He must have spoken out of frustration,” Babalola said.
However, one of Amaechi’s allies and a chieftain of the APC, Chief Chukwuemeka Eze said that Tinubu’s supporters were making a mountain out of a molehill, noting that the former minister neither mentioned Tinubu nor named any politician and wondered why he attracted unnecessary criticism from his men.
“Did Amaechi mention anybody’s name when he made that statement? So if Tinubu’s people feel that they are the guilty, it is very unfortunate.
“Everybody saw what happened on that day, and even most of the delegates confirmed that they were given money to vote,” he said.
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