Amaechi Blames Tinubu’s Economic Policies for Mother’s Death, Cites Cost of Medication

African Democratic Congress (ADC) vice-presidential candidate Rotimi Amaechi has blamed the economic policies of President Bola Tinubu’s administration for making it difficult to afford the medication his late mother needed, alleging that the hardship contributed to her death.

Amaechi made the remarks during an interview on Channels Television’s Politics Today on Friday, October 2, while criticising the effects of fuel subsidy removal and the rising cost of living on Nigerian households.

His mother, Madam Mary Amaechi, died in July at the age of 89.

The former Rivers State governor said his mother had been healthy before Tinubu assumed office in May 2023, but the rising cost of medication later made it difficult for him to obtain the drugs she needed.

“The policies are killing people. I lost my mother. Many people have lost their persons,” Amaechi said.

When asked directly whether he was attributing his mother’s death to Tinubu’s policies, he replied that she had been healthy before the President took office and that buying her medication subsequently became difficult.

“Before Tinubu, my mother was healthy. When Tinubu came, it was difficult to buy drugs for my mother.”

Amaechi also questioned how the savings generated by the removal of the petrol subsidy were being used, arguing that Nigerians should be able to feel the benefits of the policy through improved living conditions.

“Where are the funds that are supposed to be from the outcome of the fuel subsidy removal? Where are they? The essence of removing the subsidy, according to the President, is to better the lives of Nigerians. I want to feel it. Everybody wants to feel it,” he said.

The ADC candidate acknowledged that he did not hate Tinubu but disagreed with the President’s policies, which he argued had worsened the financial pressure facing Nigerians.

His comments came two days after Tinubu’s Independence Day broadcast, in which the President declared that Nigeria had moved beyond the most difficult phase of economic reforms and was entering what he described as an “age of prosperity.”

Amaechi has challenged that assessment, arguing that Nigerians should judge the reforms by their effects on household expenses, fuel prices and access to essential medicines.

The former minister of transportation’s remarks form part of the growing political debate over the consequences of subsidy removal, currency devaluation and other economic measures introduced by the Tinubu administration.

Amaechi’s assertion that the policies caused or contributed to his mother’s death reflects his account of the difficulties his family faced in obtaining medication. The interview reports do not independently establish the medical cause of her death.