Former Minister of Transportation and African Democratic Congress (ADC) vice-presidential candidate, Rotimi Amaechi, has claimed that Nigerians were better off under the administration of former President Muhammadu Buhari than under President Bola Tinubu's government.

Amaechi made the assertion on Tuesday while speaking on Channels Television's Sunrise Daily, where he criticised the Tinubu administration's economic policies and challenged Nigerians to compare their living conditions under the two governments.

According to him, Nigerians are increasingly expressing nostalgia for Buhari because of the economic difficulties they are experiencing under the current administration.

“I always like to quote the former president, Buhari. He will say, ‘People will call me back.’ Nigerians will say, ‘We miss former President Buhari’; are they not saying that now?” he said.

He urged Nigerians to assess their economic circumstances under both administrations, particularly in relation to the exchange rate, petrol prices and the cost of living.

“By the time we left office, dollar was at 600, by the time we left office, fuel was below 300,” Amaechi said.

He also questioned the scale of alleged corruption under the Buhari administration, arguing that it could not be compared with what he described as the situation under Tinubu's government.

“Can you compare it to what is going on now? What is going on now is what I call ‘Alibaba and the 40 thieves’,” he alleged.

The former minister further claimed that contractors who handled projects under his supervision at the Ministry of Transportation had been arrested by authorities investigating alleged wrongdoing.

“They have arrested almost all the contractors in the Ministry of Transport, looking for what I have done in the ministry,” he added.

On the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway project, Amaechi questioned the rationale behind its construction, alleging that President Tinubu had personal interests in the project.

“The president chose to construct the coastal road because of the benefits he will get,” he claimed.

When asked whether some of the economic challenges confronting the Tinubu administration could be traced to decisions taken under Buhari, particularly the former president's refusal to remove fuel subsidy, Amaechi dismissed the suggestion, challenging his interviewer to identify such a decision.

“Name one,” he replied.

Defending the ADC's proposal to reintroduce fuel subsidy if elected into office, Amaechi said the party supported the position Buhari had maintained before leaving office, despite admitting that he had personally advocated subsidy removal at the time.

He explained that the ADC's proposed arrangement, which he attributed to the party's presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar, would tie subsidy payments to domestic fuel production.

“Buhari refused to remove fuel subsidy because he told us clearly. In fact, thank God he didn't. I was among those pushing that he should remove fuel subsidy. He said no, it was wrong,” Amaechi said.

He added that the proposed production-based subsidy would encourage investment in local refineries by ensuring that only fuel produced within Nigeria qualified for government support.

“Atiku has come up with a better procedure to manage fuel subsidy. We are reintroducing production fuel subsidy. If you don't produce in Nigeria, we will not give you subsidy. It encourages the establishment of refineries,” he said.

Amaechi's remarks come as political parties and prospective candidates intensify preparations for the 2027 general election, with the ADC positioning its economic proposals as an alternative to the policies of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC).