Sowunmi said Amaechi possesses strong political structures and alliances capable of making him a formidable contender if he decides to contest.
Speaking on Channels Television’s Politics Today programme on Thursday, the PDP stalwart said his assessment was based on his experience in managing high-level presidential campaigns within the party.
He noted that any emerging political coalition ahead of 2027 is likely to draw support from the PDP as well as from elements of the defunct Congress for Progressive Change, CPC, a bloc closely associated with former late President Muhammadu Buhari and now part of the All Progressives Congress, APC.
According to Sowunmi, whether such a coalition adopts zoning or throws the contest open, Amaechi could benefit significantly from the internal dynamics, particularly from the CPC wing.
He added that if Amaechi maintains his political ambition and secures the backing of influential figures within the APC, including some former ministers, he could create a major political upset.
He said: “I’ve done campaigns at that level looking for ticket. I’ve run campaigns for PDP when we’re trying to get presidential ticket. We got it twice. I should know how to read in between the lines. Let me tell you why I say those who underestimate Rotimi Amaechi have a problem. That party will be made up of those who are coming from PDP and some of the elements that are coming from the CPC, factor of Muhammadu Buhari and APC.
“And then if they say they want to throw it open, where do they know that the CPC end of it will go. If they say they want to zone it, where do they know they will go. If Rotimi doesn’t back down, I’ll be shocked if it doesn’t pull an offset.
“If the people that have been ministers together with Rotimi, the Pantami’s of this world, the El-Rufai of this world, if they insist that they want to make a stake. If you underrate Rotimi, it’s at their own peril.”
