The Right Honourable Rotimi Amaechi, Minister of Transportation, has declared his candidacy for President in 2023.
Amaechi, who has previously denied being interested in the race, declared his interest on Saturday at Amiesimaka Stadium Port Harcourt, the site of the Rivers APC Thanksgiving service.
He said, “I stand before you today to declare my intention and submit my application to serve as your next President.”.
Amaechi has been in public office since 1999, serving two terms as Speaker of the Rivers State House of Assembly (1999-2007) and two terms as Governor of Rivers (2007-2015). He is one of the few ministers reappointed by President Muhammadu Buhari in 2019.
Amaechi, arguably one of the most powerful ministers, led Buhari’s campaign twice, in 2015 and 2019.
Amaechi is the first member of Buhari’s cabinet to declare his intention to run in the 2023 election; others have yet to declare their intentions.
In an interview with journalists last year, Ameachi denied harbouring ambitions to succeed Buhari.
When asked about his plans for 2023, he said, “I will sleep.”
He added that he had the plan to “do a PhD programme. I have a master’s degree and I am doing a Law programme at the Baze University, so when I wake up I will do my PhD to teach in a university.”
