Living standard worse under Tinubu’s Administration- Amaechi

Rotimi Amaechi, former Rivers State governor and ex-minister of transportation, has said the standard of living in Nigeria has worsened under the administration of President Bola Tinubu.

Amaechi made the remarks on Tuesday during a protest at the National Assembly against the rejection of mandatory real-time electronic transmission of election results.

The demonstration, led by civil society groups and political figures, is demanding amendments to the Electoral Act to make real-time electronic transmission of results compulsory ahead of the 2027 general election.

Speaking to protesters and journalists, Amaechi—who recently defected from the All Progressives Congress (APC) to the African Democratic Congress (ADC)—criticised the Tinubu administration over economic hardship and alleged corruption.

“Life is worse now than during the former President Buhari regime,” he said, adding that even though the Buhari administration planned to remove fuel subsidy, it had “better plans for citizens.”

Amaechi also alleged that corruption had increased, claiming that a $16 billion road project was awarded without due process.

“I left the APC already and they will not win,” he said, adding that it remains to be seen whether Tinubu will win re-election in 2027.

The protest at the National Assembly began on Monday, with Peter Obi, Labour Party presidential candidate in the 2023 election, leading one of the groups.

Meanwhile, the Senate on Wednesday retained the provision for electronic transfer of election results as contained in the Electoral Act 2022, but rejected proposals for real-time transmission.

The upper chamber also turned down a proposed 10-year ban on vote buyers, choosing instead to maintain the existing penalties of fines or imprisonment.

Some senators later clarified that the bill was supported by the majority, although the Senate did not adopt the real-time transmission clause demanded by advocates. Instead, it retained the current wording, which states that results should be transferred “in a manner as prescribed by the commission.”