Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi, a leading presidential candidate on the platform of the All Progressives Congress (APC), quit his job as Minister of Transportation in President Muhammadu Buhari’s cabinet yesterday so he could focus on running for president in 2023.
Timipre Sylva, the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, and Pauline Tallen, the Minister of Women Affairs, both dropped their bids for president and senator. Amaechi also quit on the same day.
In his resignation letter, which was released yesterday in Abuja by the Amaechi Presidential Media Committee (APMC), Amaechi thanked the President very much for letting him work in his administration.
He also thanked Buhari for all the help he had given him, which, he said, was the reason he had done so well in the Ministry of Transportation over the last seven years.
Amaechi’s resignation letter was quoted in the statement. It said, “It is with mixed feelings that I resign as Minister of Transportation of the Federal Republic of Nigeria to run for the Presidential nomination of our great party, the All Progressives Congress.
“Your Excellency, it has been a great honor and privilege to work in your cabinet since your historic election win in 2015. Under your leadership, the Ministry of Transportation has made a lot of progress. This is thanks to your visionary support and your commitment to making sure we do our job.
“As I move on to the next part of our mission to make Nigeria a better place for everyone, I humbly ask for your prayers and blessings and look forward to your continued support and guidance.
“Your Excellency, I humbly ask you to consider my request, and I want you to know that I hold you in the highest regard.”
Amaechi, a 56-year-old politician who is seen as the most qualified candidate for the APC presidential ticket in 2023, is thought to be the best-performing minister in Buhari’s cabinet by most people.
No one in the country had ever seen a Minister of Transportation work with as much passion and energy as he did to change the way transportation works.
All of the agencies that work directly under him, like the Nigerian Railway Corporation (NRC), Nigeria Port Authority (NPA), Nigerian Shippers Council (NSC), Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA), etc., have been significantly changed and repositioned so that they work better and more efficiently.
- Tags: 2023 election, APC, Nigeria, Rotimi Amaechi
