There are indications that the Minister of Transportation, Rotimi Ameachi might run for Presidency come 2023 if he gets the support of The All Progressive Congress APC.
Responding to the question of whether he would be willing to run for President if given the APC Presidential ticket, Ameachi who appeared on Channels Television’s Sunday Politics said he is still focused on delivering his mandate on Railyway, Transportation and Maritime as assigned to him by President Buhari.
“It is a bit too early to have such conversations, the best conversation to have is how to deliver on railway, maritime and transportation as it pertains to the responsibilities assigned to me by the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria,” he replied.
When pressed further to disclose his presidential ambition the minister said: “Why not allow me complete the responsibilities that have been assigned to me by the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and the people of Nigeria which is the responsibility of being the minster of transportation?”
“It is a huge task to deliver railway on all the six zones of the country, and also deal with the issue of seaport and maritime activity especially insecurity in the maritime sector,” he added.
The responses of the former Rivers State Governor did not rule out the possibility of him running for presidency come 2023, neither did it indicate that he has no presidential ambitions.
Ahead of 2023, the political class have already begun overt and covert movements to secure their interests.
It would be recalled that Governor Nyesom Wike of Rivers State who has virulently opposed Ameachi said he would support the minister should he run for presidency in the Peoples Democratic Party.
In the meantime, there is subtle anxiety across parties and the political class about rotating the presidency between the north and south come 2023.
Commenting on the development, the Minister of Power, Works and Housing Babatunde Fashola said the Nigerian Constitution did not preclude anyone from the six geopolitical zones to vie for the highest political office in the country.
He however appealed to the political elite to accord fidelity to the gentleman agreement in their respective political parties regarding zoning arrangement for the 2023 election, an appeal which Ameachi also lent his support to during the interview on Channels Television’s Sunday Politics.
