The Vice Presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), Rotimi Amaechi, has stated clear terms and conditions on which he will quit the party, the presidential race and back its rival, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the 2027 elections.

The former Governor of Rivers State challenged Tinubu to bring the price of petrol down to ₦600 per litre and see him withdraw from the ADC ticket and campaign for the President in the 2027 election.

Amaechi made the challenge while reacting to Tinubu’s Independence Day address and the President’s declaration that Nigeria had entered an “age of prosperity” during an interview on Friday with Channels Television’s Politics Today.

READ ALSO: Dangote to Deliver $16bn East Africa Refinery in 40 Months

Questioning the believability of Tinubu’s claim, Amaechi said Nigerians should assess whether the economic reforms had translated into lower prices and improved living conditions.

“It is about believability; who do you believe? Go to the 2005 Presidential speech; it is the same: we have turned the page, and we are about to start enjoyment,” Amaechi said.

“Have you asked one of your staff who goes by transport, how much it costs from Yanya to Abuja? Has anything come down?

“Has any price come down, has anything changed?” he asked.

Using the price of petrol as a test of the government’s economic claims, Amaechi said he would personally visit a filling station to establish whether the product had fallen to ₦600 per litre.

“I will go tomorrow morning to the petrol station to buy fuel, I will go myself, if fuel has come down to 600, I will campaign for President Tinubu,” Amaechi said.

The former Minister for Transport, under late President Muhammadu Buhari also challenged those who doubted his pledge to accompany him with a camera, saying he would withdraw from the ticket he is contesting alongside former Vice President Atiku Abubakar and support Tinubu if petrol had fallen to the stated price.

“If you doubt me, come with your camera to my house, and I will go to the filling station and buy fuel, and I, Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi will withdraw as a vice presidential candidate of Atiku and campaign for President Tinubu, if it has come down,” he declared.

The Lagos State governorship candidate of the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC), Funso Doherty, has promised to make education, books and examination fees free across the state within his first 100 days in office if elected governor in 2027.

Doherty made the pledge on Thursday during a special town hall meeting hosted by The Platform, a thought leadership initiative of The Covenant Nation, in Lagos.

Speaking on his plans for his first 100 days in office, the governorship candidate said his administration would make education entirely free, including the provision of books and payment of examination fees.

SEE ALSO: 2027: ‘Lagos Is Inhospitable To Youth’ — Doherty

“We will also provide one nutritious meal for every kid in public school. We will also provide a programme by which kids who are in public schools are transported free to school if they need it,” Doherty said.

He explained that the measures were aimed at ensuring that no child is denied access to education.

“Because the children, given our demographics, are the hope of the future and will be the time bomb of the future,” he said.

Doherty also promised what he described as truly free healthcare, with particular attention to maternal and child healthcare.

On housing, the NDC candidate said his administration would adopt a large-scale approach to addressing the housing deficit in Lagos, rather than delivering only a few hundred housing units.

“Our commitment is to deliver about 150,000 units in our first term because a large part of the problem with housing is the fact that supply has not kept up with the demand,” he said.

The pledges form part of Doherty’s proposed agenda ahead of the 2027 Lagos State governorship election.

The Lagos State governorship candidate of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), Doherty, has described Lagos as an “inhospitable” and “hostile” environment for young people.

Doherty made the remarks on Thursday during a town hall meeting with Lagos residents, where he said young people should not be regarded as merely the “leaders of tomorrow,” but as the people who constitute the Lagos of today.

According to him, Gen Z accounts for about 25 per cent of Lagos’ population, while millennials make up another 25 per cent, with Gen Alpha bringing the younger population to about 80 per cent.

SEE ALSO: Tinubu Departs Paris for Lagos, Set for Abiola Tribute

“So, in essence, Lagos is you and you are Lagos,” he said.

Doherty questioned why Lagos should feel hostile to young people despite their significant presence in the state.

“So why is it then that Lagos looks so inhospitable to the young? Why is it that it feels like a hostile environment to the young?” he asked.

He cited challenges in education and housing, among others, as factors affecting young Lagosians.

Doherty said many young people feel compelled to leave the state because of the difficulties they face, adding that government should focus on making Lagos attractive enough for them to stay.

“It’s not surprising that many feel they have to leave,” he said. “And, you know, as leaders, we can’t tell them not to leave. What we need to do is to make the place attractive for them to stay.”

The NDC candidate also spoke about what he described as the social contract between government and citizens, arguing that citizens are expected to work, pay taxes and fulfil their responsibilities while government provides the conditions necessary for them to thrive.

He asked attendees whether they believed the government was fulfilling its side of the social contract, saying he saw few hands raised in response.

Doherty also highlighted Lagos’ internally generated revenue, citing information he attributed to the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS).

He claimed that when five states — Delta, Rivers, Ogun, Enugu and the Federal Capital Territory — are separated from the remaining 31 states, Lagos still has more internally generated revenue than the 31 states combined, and also more than the five put together.

He said the state’s resources make the issue of the social contract particularly important.

Doherty outlined his vision of a Lagos where no child is denied education because their parents cannot afford it, no child dies because their parents cannot afford medication, and residents do not have to rely on unsafe transportation or experience abusive interactions with government.

“That is my vision for Lagos,” he said.
He added that his vision would be backed by specific policy actions, announcing that his campaign would release its manifesto to the public the following week.

According to Doherty, the manifesto would contain 34 specific actions that his administration would commit to implementing during its first term if elected.