“I’m Going to Rivers on Wednesday” — Amaechi Reveals How APC Defeated PDP

Former Rivers State Governor and African Democratic Congress (ADC) chieftain Rotimi Amaechi has announced plans to return to Rivers State as opposition politicians intensify grassroots mobilisation ahead of Nigeria’s 2027 elections.

Amaechi made the declaration while speaking at the ADC National Women League Conference in Abuja on Wednesday, September 30, 2026. He urged opposition politicians and party supporters to leave Abuja and return to their respective states and wards to build grassroots support.

“Me, I am going on Wednesday,” Amaechi said, adding that he would return to Rivers and campaign at the grassroots. According to him, the opposition cannot depend solely on activities in Abuja if it wants to compete effectively in the 2027 elections. He said political leaders must reconnect with voters in their wards and communities.

Amaechi recalls how PDP was defeated in 2015

Amaechi used the 2015 presidential election as an example of the importance of grassroots mobilisation.

He recalled that when he was part of the APC, the party deployed women and other grassroots supporters extensively during its campaign against the then-ruling PDP.

According to Amaechi, APC leaders engaged women directly in communities and encouraged them to participate actively in the election.

He said the strategy involved meeting supporters at night, mobilising them across different communities and ensuring that voters turned out on election day. He attributed the eventual defeat of the PDP at the centre partly to that mobilisation effort.

Amaechi is now calling for a similar grassroots strategy for the ADC ahead of 2027.

“Bring 2,000 votes per ward”

The former governor challenged ADC supporters to concentrate on the number of votes they could generate from individual wards rather than focusing only on large political rallies.

He argued that if supporters could mobilise approximately 2,000 votes per ward, the cumulative effect could become significant across the country.

Amaechi also said he intended to personally campaign in several states, including Rivers, Delta, Kebbi and Yola, stressing that presidential politics is closely connected to state-level political structures.

Amaechi links campaign to cost of living

The former minister also made the country's economic situation a central part of his remarks.

He argued that Nigerians are currently facing greater difficulty meeting basic needs, including food and school expenses, compared with the period he referenced during the 2015 campaign.

Amaechi further claimed that the number of out-of-school children and Nigerians living in poverty had increased. Those figures were presented as political claims during his speech and should therefore be distinguished from independently verified statistical estimates.

ADC opposition mobilisation gathers momentum

Amaechi's comments come amid wider attempts by opposition politicians and parties to coordinate ahead of 2027.

The report says ADC presidential candidate Atiku Abubakar recently held discussions with coalition leaders in Abuja, while other opposition figures and organisations have also been exploring cooperation.

Separately, the Movement for Credible Elections, associated with Professor Pat Utomi's Political Commission, has been consulting with opposition politicians and parties about the possibility of a common opposition candidate.

The political consultations involve figures and parties including the ADC, PDP, PRP, SDP and others.

Amaechi's Rivers return

Amaechi's announcement is particularly notable because of his political history in Rivers State, where he served as governor from 2007 to 2015.

His planned return comes as political actors in the state prepare for another intense period of mobilisation ahead of the 2027 elections.

For Amaechi, however, the immediate message is clear: opposition politicians must take their campaigns beyond Abuja and directly engage voters in their states, wards and communities.

The 2015 election, which he cited as an example, demonstrates the strategy he believes can turn grassroots mobilisation into electoral strength.

Source: Politics Nigeria/eNews report, with the claims and quotations attributed to Amaechi and other speakers at the ADC event.