Nobel laureate Wole Soyinka has publicly commended former Rivers State Governor Chibuike Amaechi for his refusal to step down for Bola Tinubu during the All Progressives Congress (APC) presidential primary election in 2022.

Speaking as the Chairman at Amaechi's 60th birthday celebration in Abuja over the weekend, Soyinka praised the former Minister of Transportation's fighting spirit, describing it as "consistent."

"The main reason why I had to be here is, first of all is that I admire Rotimi's fighting spirit, and it's a very consistent one," Soyinka stated.

The literary icon recalled watching the APC primaries from Abu Dhabi, saying it gave him "great, most malicious pleasure" to see Tinubu "being given a dose of his own medicine" when Amaechi refused to concede despite pressure.

"While everybody was falling over one another, conceding, conceding, as one individual who got on the podium and he said, 'No, I'm not conceding. I didn't come all the way here to [concede].' That one person is Amaechi. And I said this is what democracy is all about," Soyinka remarked.

Soyinka drew parallels between Amaechi's stance and Tinubu's own history of resistance, referencing how Tinubu had once been "the last man standing" when he opposed former President Olusegun Obasanjo's alleged third-term ambitions.

From Allies to Opposition

Amaechi and Tinubu were once political allies who worked together to remove the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) government led by Goodluck Jonathan in 2015. Both men reportedly contributed resources to ensure Muhammadu Buhari emerged as President and remained in office for eight years.

In the 2022 APC presidential primary, Amaechi came second behind Tinubu, who eventually won the party's ticket and went on to win the 2023 presidential election.

According to reports, Amaechi is now fully in the opposition and is described as a key member of a coalition allegedly working toward unseating the Tinubu government in the 2027 elections.

The former Rivers governor was among the few APC presidential aspirants, including former Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, Pastor Tunde Bakare, and former Imo State Governor Rochas Okorocha, who refused to step down for Tinubu during the party's primary election.