A retired Superintendent Route Commander of the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC), Evangelist Ameh Itodo Ameh, has launched an unprecedented campaign to stop President Bola Ahmed Tinubu from securing the All Progressives Congress (APC) presidential ticket in 2027, urging the ruling party to emulate the Democratic Party in the United States by replacing its incumbent candidate with what he described as “a more capable alternative.”

In a lengthy political declaration titled “Change Tinubu to AMITO Come 2027,” Ameh said President Tinubu should not be returned as the APC’s presidential standard-bearer, arguing that Nigeria’s worsening economic conditions and persistent insecurity showed the country needed a different leader.

To justify his position, the retired FRSC commander drew attention to developments in the United States, where then-President Joe Biden ended his 2024 re-election campaign after mounting pressure within the Democratic Party over concerns about his ability to continue the race following a widely criticised debate performance.

According to Ameh, political parties should be willing to make difficult decisions when they believe a different candidate would better serve the nation.

“I am about to do something unusual in our democracy—and perhaps in the world—by challenging an incumbent president in his own political party,” he declared, saying, “Nobody is ready to tell Tinubu the truth.”

The Benue-born presidential hopeful argued that while many politicians remained reluctant to criticise the President publicly, he believed it was his responsibility to speak out and offer himself as an alternative.

Ameh blamed the country’s economic difficulties on the Federal Government’s removal of fuel subsidy at the beginning of the Tinubu administration, contending that the policy unleashed inflationary pressures that have continued to erode the purchasing power of millions of Nigerians.

Using Sir Isaac Newton’s Third Law of Motion as an analogy, he argued that every government policy carries consequences, saying the administration failed to anticipate or adequately mitigate the economic impact of subsidy removal.

He further argued that the subsequent approval of a ₦70,000 national minimum wage did not sufficiently cushion workers against the rising cost of living, maintaining that a substantially higher wage would have provided greater relief.

The retired FRSC officer also expressed concern over the country’s security situation, saying Nigerians should not, in his view, entrust the nation to leadership that had failed to deliver the level of safety citizens expected.

Presenting himself as AMITO, Ameh said he possessed practical solutions to Nigeria’s economic and security challenges and urged members of the APC to consider backing his aspiration instead of automatically endorsing the incumbent.

He also revived the long-standing debate over power rotation, arguing that the North-Central geopolitical zone had never produced an elected civilian president since Nigeria returned to democratic rule in 1999. He described his ambition as an opportunity to address what he considered a historical imbalance.

Ameh lamented the financial barriers facing presidential aspirants, recalling that the APC presidential nomination forms cost ₦100 million in 2023 and expressing concern that the amount could rise further ahead of the next election.

In what he described as a “people-powered movement,” he appealed to Nigerians to contribute ₦20 each towards his presidential ambition, arguing that millions of small donations would demonstrate that ordinary citizens—not only wealthy political elites—could sponsor a viable presidential campaign.

Quoting biblical passages including John 14:14 and Proverbs 29:2, the evangelist called on Nigerians to pray for what he described as righteous leadership capable of restoring hope, security and prosperity.

Although President Tinubu has not formally declared his intention to seek a second term, Ameh’s intervention is among the earliest public calls from within APC circles urging the party to consider a different presidential candidate for 2027. His declaration also introduces an unusual argument into Nigeria’s political conversation: that governing parties, like those in other democracies, should be prepared to reconsider an incumbent’s candidacy if they believe another flag bearer would better serve the party and the country.