Amaechi spoke at the valedictory session of the Federal Executive Council (FEC) on Wednesday during which members of council expressed appreciation to the President for the opportunity he gave them to serve in his cabinet.
At the valedictory session, ministers in the cabinet took turns to narrate the lessons they learnt from the president as members of his cabinet.
Rotimi Amaechi, who was Governor of Rivers State for eight years before his appointment into the Buhari’s cabinet in 2015, narrated how he was almost chased out of “Christ the King Catholic Church” in 2014 for supporting General Muhammmadu Buhari who was at that time leading opposition to then Peoples Democratic Party (PDP)-led government of Goodluck Ebele Jonathan.
He said his persecutors chastised him for associating with Buhari, whom they alleged was trying to Islamise Nigeria.
Four years after working with the President, Amaechi made the mischief makers to know clearly that not only that Buhari does not force anybody to convert to Islam but also that he is a wonderful person to work with as national leader and head of government.
“Mr President, let me thank you for not converting me to Islam. I say that specifically because in 2014 when I walked into Christ the King Catholic Church, I was literally chased out of the church as a governor because I was accused of supporting a man whose agenda was to Islamise Nigeria.
“And in Rivers state they began to call me `Alhaji Rotimi Chibuike Amaechi’. I thank you because they have dropped the `Alhaji’ and back to Mr Chibuike Amaechi,’’ he said.
Amaechi said some persons initially thought that the president would be an autocratic leader only for him to turn out to be an “extreme democrat’’.
“I was told in the course of the campaign that you were autocratic and therefore you would not be democratic.
“Most of us are not happy that you have moved from your autocratic nature to an extreme democrat that everything puts to test of the people, to the extent that the people now feel that the only way things can go on in this country is by the rule of law.
“We all know that the rule of law is the beginning and the end of this government. Talking about the financial impunity that we saw before, people were making money without having any productive capacity for that,’’ he said.
