By ‘Dotun Akintomide
Plans are already in top gear to announce Minister of Transportation, Rotimi Amaechi as the Director General of President Muhammadu Buhari’s re-election campaign, perhaps dispelling arguments on whether the helmsman is interested in remaining in the saddle for another four years after the expiration of his tenure 2019.
The New Diplomat learnt that barring any last minute change, Amaechi would soon be officially re-appointed to kick-off proceedings for the President’s re-election bid, heralding Buhari’s seemingly silent, but resolute move to throw himself into the ring one more time.
The former Rivers state governor, Amaechi who was the DG of the Buhari campaign organization in 2015, it was gathered had since formed a Pro-Buhari die-hard group comprising of governors of the All Progressives Congress (APC), ministers, party chieftains and some prominent Nigerians to push for the President’s second term agenda, convincing other non-comformists to share the group’s ideals and support him against hue and cry by some top politicians even within the APC.
While for some APC chieftains, there may not be any plan to work against Buhari’s re-election bid, but a top source disclosed that “the desire to have their self-styled agreement re-negotiated before declaring their support for him must not be discountenanced”, else it could jeopardize the party’s intention of holding on to power at the centre in 2019.
However, in spite of President Buhari’s official silence on the matter, his recent body language and loose words when he traveled to Cote d’ivoire’s capital city, Abidjan as well as his state’s visit to Kano late last year served as feelers to Nigerians that his official declaration to contest in the next presidential election could just be weeks away.
Amidst divergent opinions that the incumbent administration’s performance had so far elicited among Nigerians in about 3-year of assuming office, the official re-appointment of Amaechi as Buhari’s campaign DG could be the needed impetus that the nation’s political landscape has been waiting for to stir up aggressive campaigns by both APC and the opposition Peoples Democratic Party as next year’s general elections beckon.
