RismadarVoice Reporters
October 3, 2026
Former Minister of Transportation and African Democratic Congress vice-presidential candidate, Rotimi Amaechi, has alleged that President Bola Tinubu’s economic policies contributed to his mother’s death, citing the rising cost of medicines and broader cost-of-living pressures.
Amaechi made the claim during an interview on Friday while discussing the impact of the Federal Government’s economic reforms on Nigerians.
He said his mother had been healthy before Tinubu assumed office but claimed that increasing medicine costs subsequently made it more difficult to provide the treatment she required.
“Because policies are killing people. I’ve lost my mother,” Amaechi said.
He maintained that his family’s experience reflected a wider problem facing Nigerians struggling with healthcare costs.
Amaechi also questioned the benefits Nigerians had received from the removal of the petrol subsidy, arguing that savings generated by the policy should translate into improvements in citizens’ living conditions.
He said rising costs were affecting transportation, housing, healthcare and other basic household expenses.
The former Rivers State governor further cited Nigeria’s dependence on imported pharmaceutical products while arguing that exchange-rate and other economic pressures had contributed to higher medicine prices.
Amaechi’s assertion linking government policies to his mother’s death is his own claim. No medical evidence establishing a direct causal connection between specific government policies and her death was presented during the interview.
His remarks come amid political debate over the economic reforms introduced by the Tinubu administration since 2023, including the removal of the petrol subsidy and changes to the foreign-exchange system.
The administration has defended the reforms as necessary to address longstanding economic weaknesses, improve public finances and create conditions for longer-term economic growth.
Tinubu, in his October 1 Independence Day address, rejected calls for a reversal of the reforms, maintaining that his administration was confronting structural problems in the economy rather than creating them.
Amaechi, however, argued that government policies should ultimately be assessed by their effect on the living conditions of Nigerians, particularly their ability to afford essential needs such as food, transportation and healthcare.
His comments also come as political debate intensifies ahead of the 2027 general elections, in which he is running as the ADC vice-presidential candidate.
