The Minister of Transportation and presidential aspirant on the platform of All Progressives Congress (APC), Rotimi Amaechi, has described himself as energetic.
Amaechi on Monday evening said no president can lead Nigeria from the hospital bed during a meeting with Ogun State Governor, Dapo Abiodun and APC delegates in Abeokuta, the state capital.
The former Rivers governor, while canvassing votes from the delegates ahead of the 2023 election, said that even though he had been told that being energetic was not enough to lead a state, no one can lead from a hospital bed.
Amaechi stated this as one of the reasons why he should be chosen above Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, who is from the state.
Amaechi is 56 years old while Osinbajo is 65. The national leader of the party, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, who is also contesting, turned 70 in March.
Last October, Tinubu returned to Nigeria after a three-month medical trip to the UK.
President Muhammadu Buhari’s incessant travels to the United Kingdom for medical treatment have cost Nigeria over 200 days since he assumed office in May 2015.
Buhari’s penchant for foreign medical help is in stark contrast with the ongoing crisis in the country, from economic to health and insecurity.
Amaechi, however, said, “I know that there is a candidate from this state, our Vice President, a man of honour, he is a good candidate, but I think that if you look well, my experience matters.
“I come with experience, I’m 56 years old, I will be 57 in May, so I’m the bridge between the young and the old. I have energy and people have said, no, being energetic is not enough to preside over a state, but you can’t preside over a state in the hospital.”
Amaechi and his team also visited the Alake of Egbaland, Oba Adedotun Aremu Gbadebo, at his palace in Abeokuta.
The transportation minister earlier in April ran round the Port Harcourt stadium in Rivers State during his official declaration as a presidential aspirant for 2023 elections.
He later said he did that to check how fit he was to “carry the problems of the country”.
“Age will not be an issue. I am like a bridge between the young and the old,” Amaechi said.
He added, “People have asked me why I ran round the stadium. I was checking to see how fit I am, so I had to run round the stadium to confirm to myself that I’m strong enough to carry the problems of the country, whether it is mentally or physically.
“Because you need both mental capacity and physical fitness to manage this country.
“You have to be physically strong and have the mental capacity to make decisions on behalf of the country.”