Former presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and ex-Vice President, Atiku Abubakar, has congratulated former Minister of Transportation, Rotimi Amaechi, on his birthday.
Atiku, in a post on his X handle on Wednesday, described Amaechi as his “brother and fellow patriot,” while commending his years of service to Rivers State and Nigeria.
“Happy Birthday to my brother and fellow patriot, H.E. Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi. Your courage, conviction, and years of service to Rivers State and Nigeria continue to inspire many across the nation,” Atiku wrote.
The former presidential candidate also prayed for good health, strength and more years of impactful service for Amaechi.
“I wish you good health, strength, and many more years of impactful service to our dear country,” he added.
The birthday message came amid the controversy trailing the presidential primary election of the African Democratic Congress.
Amaechi, a presidential aspirant of the ADC, on Tuesday rejected the outcome of the party’s presidential primary election, describing the results collated from across the country as “concocted.”
The former Rivers State governor, who contested alongside Atiku and economist Mohammed Hayatu-Deen for the party’s ticket, announced his position in a statement posted on his verified X handle, @ChibuikeAmaechi.
According to Amaechi, the exercise conducted across the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory was marred by widespread voter disenfranchisement.
“Following reports of widespread voter disenfranchisement in most parts of the country during the African Democratic Congress Presidential Primaries yesterday, I unequivocally reject the concocted results being announced,” he wrote.
Amaechi said he had earlier maintained that he would only accept the outcome of the primaries if the process was free, fair and transparent.
“I will not accept results from a process that does not reflect the values that the ADC had pledged to uphold, to rescue Nigerians from the impunity and gross mismanagement that our country is currently facing in the hands of the ruling party,” he stated.
He further argued that many party members were allegedly denied the opportunity to participate in the exercise.
“There’s no way that about eighty per cent of members of the party were not allowed to vote, and you expect me to accept such results. Then what makes us different from the others?” he asked.
The former governor said the ADC was founded to provide Nigerians with a credible political alternative and warned against actions capable of undermining the party’s integrity.
“A party that criticises the ruling APC and INEC for vote buying, rigging and writing of results, cannot be engaged in vote buying, writing of results, and other electoral malpractices that lead to the disenfranchisement of voters who are party members. This is not acceptable,” Amaechi added.
Amaechi’s rejection of the process came hours after fellow aspirant, Mohammed Hayatu-Deen, also announced his decision to boycott the final collation and declaration ceremony in Abuja over alleged irregularities.
The PUNCH