These are indeed not the best of times for Hon. Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi, Minister of Transportation and the Director-General of President Muhammadu Buhari Election Campaign Council. With just few days to the conduct of the 2019 presidential election, the former Rivers state governor is enmeshed in controversy of allegedly de-marketing and badmouthing the man he is meant to advertise to Nigerians, President Muhammadu Buhari.

In the alleged audio which has gone viral and is already generating mixed reactions from Nigerians, Amaechi was heard making disparaging remarks about the President

In the audio, Amaechi was reported to have said: “This country can never change, I swear. The only way this country can change is in a situation where everybody is killed. This country is going nowhere. When Magnus (Abe) was Secretary to the Rivers State Government (SSG), I told him that this country is hopeless and helpless and he told me, ‘Oga, stop it’. This cannot be coming from a governor.

“But two months (later) in Abuja, Magnus came to meet me and said, ‘I agree with you; this country is hopeless and helpless. All they do in Abuja is to share money. I have already written to the governor of Katsina State and I don’t know why he has not replied to give us the land in Daura for a university in Daura. The next university would be in my village. There was a popular saying while we were growing up, that charity begins at home. Will my own (charity) begin abroad?

“The president does not listen to anybody. He doesn’t care. You can write what you want to write. Does he read? I was flying with him in an aircraft and we saw a news report where a goat seller was complaining that he couldn’t sell his goats during Sallah because of he Buhari’s administration. And the president said what’s my business with goat sellers?”

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