Legit.ng journalist Adekunle Dada has over 8 years of experience covering metro, government policy, and international issues

FCT, Abuja - Nobel laureate, Professor Wole Soyinka, has praised former Minister of Transportation, Rotimi Amaechi, for not stepping down for President Bola Tinubu during the All Progressives Congress (APC) presidential primary in 2022.

Soyinka said Amaechi demonstrated courage by refusing to step down for Tinubu during the APC primary contest of 2022.

He stated this in Abuja on Saturday during Amaechi’s 60th birthday celebration.

As reported by The Punch, the playwright said he followed the APC presidential primary live from Abu Dhabi.

According to Soyinka, he was particularly moved by Amaechi’s defiance at the APC primary election.

He said the main reason he attended the birthday celebration was because he admires Amaechi’s fighting spirit.

“I wanted to see the drama of all the primaries going on during the election. I wasn’t here, but I said I wanted to watch this contest, and I’m glad I did.

“Because it gave me a great—most malicious pleasure, rascally if you like, pleasure-to-to — see the incumbent president being given a dose of his own medicine.”

The 90-year-old said the former Rivers state governor’s decision to stay in the race reminded him of Tinubu’s defiance during the Olusegun Obasanjo era.

“Let me explain this. For somebody, we knew as the last man standing when he fought to a standstill, a former president who was manoeuvring himself into a position of changing the constitution and obtaining a third term.”

Recall that Atiku Abubakar, Nasir El-Rufai, and Amaechi criticized Tinubu’s administration and pledged to unite the opposition ahead of the 2027 election.

Speaking at Amaechi’s 60th birthday lecture, the leaders accused the government of using poverty as a political tool and failing to address economic hardship.

Other speakers, including Sanusi Lamido and Cardinal Onaiyekan, condemned poor governance, rising insecurity, and the widening gap between Nigeria's elites and the poor.

Meanwhile, Legit.ng reported that the immediate past president of Nigeria, Muhammadu Buhari described Amaechi as “a golden fish” who was a key asset in his administration.

Buhari, while celebrating Amaechi who clocked 60 years on Tuesday, May 27, shared how the minister revived Nigeria’s dilapidated transport infrastructure.

The former president in a congratulatory message on Wednesday Amaechi lauded his contributions to national development during his tenure as minister of transportation and governor of Rivers state.

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Source: Legit.ng