LAGOS, Nigeria — Rotimi Amaechi, the African Democratic Congress vice-presidential candidate, has said President Bola Tinubu’s economic policies contributed to his mother’s death.
Amaechi, a former Rivers State governor and former minister of transportation, made the claim during an appearance on Channels Television’s Politics Today on Friday, October 2, 2026, as he criticised the cost-of-living pressures that have followed the Tinubu administration’s economic reforms.
The former minister argued that sharply higher medicine costs made it increasingly difficult to provide for her medical needs.
“Because policies are killing people. I’ve lost my mother,” Amaechi said.
When pressed during the interview on whether he was directly linking his mother’s death to Tinubu’s policies, Amaechi answered, “Of course.”
Amaechi said his mother had been healthy before Tinubu took office but that obtaining the medicines she required became increasingly difficult as prices rose.
He presented her experience as part of what he said was a wider struggle by Nigerians to pay for healthcare and other basic needs.
Mary Amaechi died in July at the age of 89. At the time, the family said she had died peacefully and described her as a Christian and community leader who was deeply committed to her family.
The available reports did not provide medical evidence establishing that government economic policy caused her death.
Amaechi’s assertion was his account of how rising costs affected his ability to obtain medication for her.
Amaechi Links Medicine Costs to Wider Economic Hardship
Amaechi’s comments came during a broader attack on the administration’s handling of the economy, particularly the removal of the petrol subsidy and other reforms introduced after Tinubu took office in May 2023.
He argued that the government had failed to translate the savings from subsidy removal into improvements ordinary Nigerians could readily see.
Amaechi also cited what he described as National Bureau of Statistics data showing that Nigeria had spent N200 billion importing drugs in the previous quarter.
That figure has not been independently established.
FactCheckAfrica reviewed the claim and found it unverified, noting that the NBS had not yet released foreign-trade figures for the third quarter of 2026 when Amaechi made the statement.
The latest available NBS report covered the second quarter.
The second-quarter figures nevertheless showed substantial pharmaceutical imports.
Medicines imported from India alone were valued at N64.87 billion, while human vaccines from India were worth N63.88 billion and antimalarial medicines N30.83 billion, according to reporting based on the NBS data.
Tinubu Defends His Economic Reforms
Tinubu has defended the policies Amaechi criticised, saying they were necessary to address longstanding weaknesses in Nigeria’s economy.
In his Independence Day address a day before Amaechi’s television appearance, the president acknowledged that the reforms had caused hardship but argued that the country’s economic position had improved.
“Our reforms did not create the weaknesses in our economy. They confronted them,” Tinubu said.
The president said his administration’s next priority was to reduce the cost of living by lowering production and transportation costs, while expanding agricultural production, industrial activity, and employment.
Tinubu has also rejected calls for a return to the former petrol subsidy regime, maintaining that the economic reforms have strengthened the country’s finances and created the conditions for future growth.
Wike Challenges Amaechi’s Claim
Nyesom Wike, the minister of the Federal Capital Territory and Amaechi’s successor as Rivers State governor, later criticised the remarks.
Wike questioned Amaechi’s assertion that the cost of medicine had prevented him from adequately caring for his mother, pointing to Amaechi’s long career in public office and accusing him of drawing his late mother into a political dispute.
The All Progressives Congress also attacked Amaechi over the statement, arguing that his previous senior government positions made his claim that he could not afford medication hard to accept.
Amaechi served as speaker of the Rivers State House of Assembly from 1999 to 2007, governor of Rivers State from 2007 to 2015, and transportation minister under former President Muhammadu Buhari from 2015 to 2023.
He is now the running mate of Atiku Abubakar on the ADC ticket for the 2027 presidential election.
