The All Progressives Congress (APC) has responded sharply to recent remarks by Rotimi Amaechi, the former Minister of Transportation, accusing him of encouraging Nigerian youths to protest over the escalating cost of living in the country. The party condemned the comments, calling them “insensitive” and “unpatriotic.”
In a statement issued on Friday in Abuja, APC’s National Publicity Secretary, Felix Morka, took direct aim at Amaechi, a former Speaker of the House of Representatives and two-term governor of Rivers State. Morka said that Amaechi’s call for protests was not only misguided but also hypocritical and provocative. “Amaechi’s comments are insensitive, god-awful, and unpatriotic, coming from one of Nigeria’s longest-serving and highest-ranking political freeloaders,” Morka said.
Amaechi, in a recent interview, had criticized Nigerian youth for not rising up in protest over the soaring cost of living under the administration of President Bola Tinubu. He suggested that young Nigerians had failed to take to the streets to voice their dissatisfaction, a sentiment that Morka vehemently rejected. According to the APC spokesman, Amaechi’s remarks attempted to “hoodwink” Nigerians into believing he had empathy for their struggles, while actually inciting violence.
Morka also argued that such comments were not only dangerous but also showed a lack of understanding of the current economic realities. “Attempting to hoodwink Nigerians into his web of false empathy and incitement to violence is hypocritical, provocative, and dangerous,” Morka said. He emphasized that while Nigerians are currently facing economic discomforts, they remain aware that the reforms implemented by the Tinubu administration are necessary and will lead to lasting change.
The APC spokesperson expressed confidence that the economic challenges under the present government would be short-lived. He suggested that the temporary hardship would soon be overshadowed by the transformative benefits of the reforms, which, he argued, were already beginning to show positive signs. “Nigerians are highly perceptive, discerning, and mindful that the current economic discomforts are transient,” he stated.
Morka also rejected Amaechi’s attempt to stoke dissent, suggesting that the people would not be easily swayed into violent protests. “Nigerians will not be cajoled into taking back through street violence what they handed to the Tinubu-led administration through the ballot,” he said, indicating that the people had made their choice through democratic means and would not be persuaded by the rhetoric of “naysayers.”
He went on to criticize what he described as the “naysayer tribesmen” of the opposition who, according to him, had done little to improve the country’s economic situation during their time in power. “It is nauseating to think that these naysayer tribesmen, who did absolutely nothing to improve the economy or living conditions for Nigerians while they were in office, are now pontificating endlessly about what and how things should be done,” Morka said.
The APC official further argued that the very politicians who had failed to deliver during their tenure now seemed to be finding their voices only after being ousted from power. “It is as though they only regain their senses and discover their talents for governance when they are out of power,” Morka remarked, alluding to Amaechi and others in his camp. The comment underscored the party’s belief that Amaechi, despite his long political career, had little to show in terms of real progress for the nation.
Morka concluded by condemning the opposition for being focused on negativity rather than acknowledging the positive changes underway under the APC administration. “A tribe of naysayers is what they are, who never see any good, only gloom, filled with bile and disdain for the determined strides of the APC administration under Tinubu to transform our country’s economy for the benefit of present and future generations of Nigerians,” Morka said.
