Amaechi Says Buhari Outperformed Tinubu on Security, INEC Independence, Slams Economic Management

Reported by Quest FMTV News

Former Minister of Transportation, Rotimi Amaechi, has sharply criticised President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s administration, claiming that his predecessor, Muhammadu Buhari, performed better in key areas such as national security, institutional independence, and governance standards.

Amaechi, who served under Buhari and is a former governor of Rivers State, made the comments on Politics Today, a flagship programme on Channels Television, on Thursday. While acknowledging that Buhari did not achieve all his goals, Amaechi insisted the former president’s leadership still fared better than that of the current administration.

“Not everything was achieved. Buhari will tell you that he did not achieve all that he planned for. But then, he was better than the current government by all standards,” Amaechi declared.

He specifically pointed to security and the independence of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) as areas where Buhari had the edge. “In terms of security, Buhari focused on it. Again, the independence of INEC was higher in Buhari’s government than now,” he said. “Now, they can’t even register a party because government officials are telling them not to. Those who applied to INEC for registration — their rents have expired.”

Amaechi dismissed the notion that his criticism is personal, stressing that he would be quick to support Tinubu if he believed the administration was on the right path. “If Tinubu was doing well, I’d be the first to sing his praises,” he said. “I feel ashamed for a President commissioning 16 kilometres of road — that’s what a local government chairman should be doing.”

On the economic front, the former minister was even more scathing, accusing the Tinubu government of worsening poverty through what he described as poor economic decisions. He argued that while the government has claimed savings from fuel subsidy removal and currency floatation, those gains have not translated into any tangible improvement in the lives of ordinary Nigerians.

“The current government has completely buried the economy,” he stated. “Any economy that does not put money in the pockets of individuals in Nigeria is not an economic policy.”

Amaechi said the Nigerian socio-economic structure has now collapsed into two distinct classes — the elite and the impoverished — with the middle class virtually extinct. “We have a situation where only members of this government are in the rich class. The middle class has vanished, and the poor are increasing. At this rate, a time will come when we won’t even see the poor anymore — they’ll have all died.”

His comments come amid increasing public dissatisfaction with rising inflation, the cost of living crisis, and widespread poverty. Amaechi’s remarks are the latest in a growing chorus of voices questioning the direction and priorities of the Tinubu-led administration.