Rotimi Amaechi has vowed to never return to the opposition People’s Democratic Party (PDP) for whatever reason.
The former Rivers State governor dumped the PDP in November 2013 after months of a power tussle between him and the party’s leadership. He defected to the All Progressives Congress (APC) with four other state governors to boost the chances of the then-opposition party for the 2015 general elections.
During an interview on Arise News Television on Thursday, November 15, 2018, Amaechi said he’ll never return to his former party.
“I’m no longer in PDP. People should leave me alone now, I don’t want to go back to PDP. I’ll never return to PDP. Mark my words. I remain in APC,” he vowed.
Despite the minister’s apparently strong commitment to the ruling party, it’s not rare to see Nigerian politicians walk back on their words to jump parties. In fact, seven months before he dumped the PDP, Amaechi had vowed he would not jump ship.
“I am still in the PDP. I am a member of the PDP. PDP is the only national party in the country for now. Why will one want to leave a national party and go to another party?” he said in April 2013.
In August 2018, Kwara State governor, Abdulfatah Ahmed, and former Kano State governor, Senator Rabiu Kwankwaso, both dumped the APC for a return to the PDP. They were two of the governors that dumped the PDP at the same time as Amaechi in 2013.
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