Rotimi Amaechi, presidential aspirant of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), says he will accept the outcome of the party’s presidential primary if the process is transparent and credible.
Speaking at his ward in Ubima, Ikwerre LGA of Rivers state, after casting his vote in the ADC presidential primary on Monday, the former Rivers governor noted that there was a huge turnout of party members for the exercise.
Amaechi said the voting process in his ward was peaceful and transparent.
“There was dancing, celebrations and all that, and then we got the INEC people involved,” he said.
“I cast my vote and I left the place.”
The former minister said he had monitored the exercise across the country but was still waiting for more updates from some states.
“I hope that the system will be transparent as it was in my village,” he said.
“If it is transparent, I will accept the result because from day one all we agreed is that if the primary is free and fair, nobody’s going anywhere.”
A COMPROMISED PROCESS WILL BE CHALLENGED
Amaechi, however, warned that aspirants would challenge the process if it is compromised.
“But where it is not free and fair, a lot of us will react,” he said.
The former governor also defended his presidential ambition, citing his record in Rivers state.
“If you have seen what I have done in Rivers State, then you only ask that question because I changed the face of Rivers State,” he said.
He said his administration tackled insecurity, improved education and invested heavily in infrastructure.
“In less than six months, Port Harcourt became free,” he said.
“So the insecurity challenge in Nigeria can be tackled.”
Amaechi accused many Nigerian politicians of treating politics as a means of personal survival instead of governance.
“Most politicians don’t want to govern,” he said.
“Politics becomes employment for them.”
The former minister said governance is about solving problems.
“A governor or president is like an engineer,” he said.
“An engineer finds solutions to engineering problems. A governor is supposed to find solutions to political, economic and social problems.”
Amaechi also said he would work with whoever emerges as the ADC presidential candidate if the process is credible.
“The answer is yes,” he said.
“But if the process is not free and fair, we’ll question it.”
