Amaechi made the declaration at exactly 1:18pm during a special thanksgiving organised in her s honour by the All Progressives Congress at the Adokiye Amiesimaka Stadium in Igwurita, Ikwerre Local Government Area, a facility he built while he was the Governor of Rivers State.

The Minister in his speech titled ‘Forward with courage’ started with a song ‘who can battle with the Lord’, saying ‘hope is around the corner’.

While noting that his aspiration was not about fulfilling any personal ambition, Amaechi said he considered it a moral duty to give what he could in the service of the country.

“Fellow Nigerians, I stand before you today to declare my intention and submit my application to serve as your next President.

“My aspiration is not about fulfilling any personal ambition. I am contesting for office because I believe that it is my moral duty to give what I can in the service of my country.

To sustain and intensify present efforts at solving our national problems, our democracy must ensure the emergence of a leadership that is equipped with broad experience in governance to ensure stability and continuity.

“To sustain our democracy and preserve our unity, we need a steady hand and a passion for success in a nation that remains united to pursue prosperity for all Nigerians.

“It is this combination of experience and patriotic passion that I bring to the table. I have been in the political arena for 23 years.

“I have served at every level of government – local, state, and federal. I have served both as a political appointee and an elected official. I have served both as an executive – as Governor of Rivers State and as a legislator – as Speaker of the State House of Assembly,” he stated.

The minister added, “In these capacities, I did not just fill vacant posts. As a Speaker, I managed the legislative process during a difficult transition from military rule.

“As governor, I defeated mercantile militancy and restored security. As a minister, I can modestly claim to have justified the trust of Nigerians. Today, I stand as an aspirant to the position of President because of that same passion for people; that same drive for results.

More than ever before, I am burning with the zeal to make a decisive difference in the lives of all Nigerians.”

Amaechi, who implored the gathering to observe a minute silence in honour of those who died in the Abuja-Kaduna train attack, rued the insecurity, unemployment and hunger in the country.

“We are facing some serious challenges as a country. These are problems of insecurity, challenges of greater accountability in governance, youth unemployment and the scourge of spiral poverty.

“These problems are however not the exclusive preserve of Nigeria. We live in a troubled world. The reality we used to know has been altered in nearly every nation.

“Climate change has brought about food scarcity in some places. Population explosion has produced unusual pressure on resources and supplies.

“Poverty has become a challenge all over the world, especially in the developing countries, saying Nigeria was part of the world and must out in necessary efforts to tackle challenges.

“No matter the darts and arrows that come my way, I will remain steadfast because the stakes are too high. We cannot afford to fail. We cannot afford to veer off-course.

I pledge my heart, mind and soul to the task of building a Nigeria in which every child can go to school, every young person can find work or support to start a business, every citizen can travel safely around the country and sleep at night knowing that law and order prevail and every Nigerian feels included, heard, and respected.

“The road ahead will be long and arduous. But we go forward with faith,” Amaechi stated

Recall that Amaechi had while fielding questions from journalists after the train bombing that left at least eight persons dead, said he had predicted the attack and presented a memo to FEC for the procurement of security equipment, but it was rejected.

According to the minutes of the FEC meeting of September 24, 2021, marked EC (2021)236, which was presided over by Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo, while President Muhammadu Buhari was attending the United Nations General Assembly, Amaechi recommended that a firm, Mogjan Nigeria Limited, be given the contract worth N3.7bn.

The firm, which was incorporated on August 6, 2019, by Prince Godwin Momoh, Chioma Momoh and George Momoh, had a turnover of N84.9m.

We had doubts about the capability of a company, which was formed less than two years prior and had no track record of handling a contract of N3.7bn or a contract on surveillance systems. The company was also to be paid upfront. Our investigation pointed to a conflict of interest,” said a top Presidency official.

According to the memo sighted by The PUNCH, Amaechi in his presentation stated that the Bureau of Public Procurement had reviewed the process of procurement and had given a certificate of no objection for the contract, adding that the project would be funded from the N71.4bn budget of the ministry.

The minister subsequently asked the council to “approve the award of contract for the procurement and installation of electronic surveillance system and interrogation unit on the Abuja (Idu)-Kaduna (Rigasa) 200km railway monitoring rail intrusion detection system and emergency response system in favour of Messrs Mogjan Nigeria Limited/Cagewox Dot Net Limited in the sum of N3,780,827,410.66 inclusive of 7.5 per cent VAT with a completion period of four months.”

However, ministers in the council questioned the capacity of the firm to deliver as well as the failure of Amaechi to provide proper detail on the capabilities of the equipment.

There was also a scanty record of the company’s past projects, which could prove that it was capable of executing such a project as a report by the Federal Ministry of Transportation sighted by The PUNCH showed that the firm had no evidence of carrying out such a project in the past.

The minutes of the meeting read in part, “Some members expressed concern about the quality of the memorandum as there was no description of the surveillance system concept note, brand name, country of manufacture or review by the previous user to enable them to make informed decisions.

To prevent this, the minister noted that he had requested for necessary digital security and crime prevention equipment that could forestall such disaster, but was not approved.

Briefing journalists after visiting the scene of the incident on Tuesday, the minister expressed dissatisfaction over the incident, which he claimed, could have been averted with relevant digital security equipment in place.

According to him, we knew what the problem would be. We knew we needed to have digital security equipment. We applied for it.

He said, “Because if we had those equipment, you will see nobody on that track. And I warned that lives will be lost. Now, lives are lost. Eight persons dead, 25 persons in the hospital.We don’t know how many persons have been kidnapped. And the cost of that equipment is just N3 billion. The cost of what we’ve lost is more than N3 billion. We’ve lost tracks, we’ve lost locomotives and coaches. We’ve lost human beings. And the equipment is just N3 billion. To fix all the things on that track now, will cost us more than N3 billion. And now even the things we said give us approval to buy – at the time we asked for it, dollar was N400, now it is N500. When you come with sincerity to government and your colleagues and people are stopping you, it is annoying.”

Amaechi said this on a Channels Television’s programme titled, ‘Hard Copy’

The former governor of Rivers State claimed that while he headed the governors’ forum, he was informed by Presidency officials that there was virtually nothing left in the treasury.

The minister added, “When you talk about bandits and all these people that kill. It is a question about poverty. And that poverty didn’t start in this regime. Don’t forget that oil was sold at $110, $114, $115 per barrel. When this government came into power, oil fell to $28 per barrel and since then it has not gone above $80 per barrel. As former chairman of the governors’ forum, I was told by the security in a meeting chaired by the former President including the former minister of finance that at every point in time, the government must leave money behind in case Nigeria goes to war that would last for six months.

According to a statement released by presidential spokesperson, Garba Shehu, Her suspension followed a recommendation by Rotimi Amaechi, minister of transportation, to set up an administrative panel of inquiry to investigate the Hadiza-led management of the NPA.

‘Shehu’s statement read “President Muhammadu Buhari has approved the recommendation of the Ministry of Transportation under Rt. Hon. Rotimi Amaechi for the setting up of an Administrative Panel of Inquiry to investigate the Management of the Nigerian Ports Authority, NPA. The President has also approved that the Managing Director, Hadiza Bala Usman step aside while the investigation is carried out. Mr Mohammed Koko will act in that position. The panel is to be headed by the Director, Maritime Services of the Ministry while the Deputy Director, Legal of the same ministry will serve as Secretary. Other members of the panel will be appointed by the Minister”.

Speaking at the 34th convocation lecture of the University of Calabar as a guest lecturer, the Minister reiterated President Buhari’s commitment to revamping the nation’s agricultural sector, noting that dams and irrigation works are being undertaken to improve the availability of water to farms to aid food production.

Amaechi said “The Buhari administration has embarked on massive rehabilitation of our decayed national infrastructure in the last five years. Throughout the federation, major highways are being rehabilitated and new ones built. Critical bridges are being built to link major ethnic-economic nerve centres. The President inherited a contract of $11.1 billion to construct a railway from Lagos to terminate at Calabar. So just wait, before the end of this year if you don’t see contractors solve the problem of your road.”

The Minister noted that only God knows Nigeria’s next leader.

Amaechi who was a guest on Channels Television’s Sunday Politics explained that he is focussing on his job as a minister and would not want to be distracted.

“I am still the Minister for Transportation and only God can tell who will be the President of Nigeria in 2023,” the 58-year-old Minister said during the programme.

The Minister, while speaking at the launch of the e-ticketing in Abuja said the e-ticketing platform was another milestone for the NRC, the Federal Ministry of Transportation and the Federal Government.

Amaechi, expresses hope that deploying the secured ticketing solution is in line with world best practice, and will enhance efficiency, save time and promote accountability.

“This project which is a Public-Private Partnership is a product of over three years of rigorous procurement process and due diligence involving the NRC, NITDA and finally obtaining approval from the Federal Executive Council.

“Today marks the beginning of the automation of ticket sales in all our major stations on the Abuja Kaduna train service. This is a total package that also includes access control which will be deployed subsequently.

“It is my believe that deploying the secured ticketing solution is in line with world best practice, and will enhance efficiency, save time and promote accountability while also reducing leakages and promoting economic growth.”

Appearing on a Channels Television programme, Amaechi was asked if the All Progressives Congress (APC) will consider giving the south-east a chance for the presidency in 2023.

He said “It is a difficult question for me to respond to. I just believe that the zoning which was done in the north and south should be respected, just like Fashola said. The best conversation to have now is how to deliver on the railway, maritime as it pertains to the responsibility assigned to me by the president. Why not allow me to complete the responsibility that has been given to me by the president which is being the minister of transportation.”