A chieftain of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), Chief Rotimi Amaechi was conspicuously absent at the inauguration of former Lagos State Governor, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu as Nigeria’s 16th President on Monday at the Eagle Square in Abuja.
However, Amaechi, a former Minister of Transportation and ex-governor of Rivers, was spotted at the inauguration of Labour Party’s Alex Otti as the Governor of Abia State at the Umuahia Township Stadium.
While Tinubu was sworn in in Nigeria’s capital city of Abuja, 28 governors spread across four different political parties were sworn in simultaneously in their respective states.
Tinubu’s inauguration was well-attended by African leaders including South Africa’s Cyril Ramaphosa; Prime Minister of Gabon, Billy By-Nze, President of the Republic of Cote D’Ivoire, Alassane Ouattara; Ghana President, Nana Akufo-Addo; Rwanda President, Paul Kagame; amongst others.
Tinubu’s predecessors like Muhammadu Buhari and Goodluck Jonathan witnessed the historic occasion in person.
Also at the venue of the inauguration ground were dignitaries including the President of the African Development Bank (AfDB), Akinwumi Adesina as well as billionaires such as Aliko Dangote, Femi Otedola, Abdulsamad Rabiu, and Jim Ovia.
Others present include service chiefs, heads of security agencies, governors, former governors, serving and former ministers as well APC bigwigs like the immediate past Vice President Yemi Osinbajo; Senate President Ahmed Lawan; House of Representatives Speaker, Femi Gbajabiamila; amongst others.
However, Amaechi, a two-term member of the Buhari administration was not in attendance. Amaechi was instead pictured at the Umuahia Township Stadium in Abia alongside guests like Theodore Orji, Enyinnaya Abaribe, Julius Abure, Datti Baba-Ahmed, amongst other dignitaries.
Many Nigerians have gone on social media to express surprise over Amaechi’s presence at Otti’s inauguration.
Back in June 2022, Tinubu trounced powerbrokers in the APC like Amaechi, Osinbajo and Lawan to clinch the party’s ticket.
All through the about six-month campaign period approved by the electoral body, Amaechi did not attend any of Tinubu’s rallies nationwide even the one he had in Port Harcourt, his home state in his home state.
Amaechi, who is not also on good terms with the immediate past governor of Rivers and Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) powerbroker, Nyesom Wike, did not attend the inauguration of the new governor of his home state, Fubara Siminalayi.