Former Rivers Governor Rotimi Amaechi has said he is the only national candidate and the most viable among those contesting the 2027 presidential election.

Mr Amaechi, who stated this in a Channels TV interview on Friday, dismissed other contenders, including Atiku Abubakar, President Bola Tinubu and Peter Obi, as regional candidates.

“The difference between other candidates and me, as you have mentioned, is that I am the only national and most viable candidate. Only the Nigerian candidate. Some are running as Igbo. Some are running as Hausa- Fulani. President Tinubu is already running as a Yoruba man,” he said.

Messrs Amaechi, Abubakar and Obi are all prominent members of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), a coalition formed to wrest power from the All Progressives Congress (APC)-led government in 2027.

Asked whether he possesses the political popularity to match Messrs Abubakar and Obi, who garnered millions of votes during the 2023 presidential election, Mr Amaechi stated, “We are registering now in the ADC. Why haven’t the six million registered with the ADC? Why do we have three million? If I were on the ballot (in 2023), I would have more than six million votes.”

The ADC chieftain further said the Muhammadu Buhari-led government was better than the Tinubu-led administration, insisting he is the only viable candidate with the requisite leadership skills and experience to turn the country around.

He said, “I was part of Buhari’s government and can say that it was better than Tinubu’s government. I am running because I am a Nigerian candidate who knows the country’s problems and can solve them. 

“The factors are different now. Nigerians are hungry. I am the most viable candidate because Nigerians are looking for a president who can bring solutions to the table and change the issue of governance. I have run Rivers and showed I can fight insecurity.”