PORT HARCOURT, Nigeria – Former Minister of Transportation and ex-Governor of Rivers State, Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi, has sharply refuted claims made by his successor, Nyesom Wike, over political appointments and state development, further escalating the rift between the two political rivals.
Speaking on ARISE News Tuesday, Amaechi dismissed Wike’s alleged assertion that he was denied the post of Commissioner for Finance. “It is not true I flew from Abuja to court and Wike asked to be made finance commissioner,” he said. “He made himself Chief of Staff, Minister, Governor, even Local Government Chairman.”
Amaechi offered a pointed critique of Wike’s political narrative, calling it revisionist and self-serving. He also emphasized that his own rise to the governorship was not handed to him but won through the courts. “Nobody made me governor. The judiciary pronounced me governor,” he said, crediting former Governor Peter Odili and the Nigerian judiciary.
Reflecting on his tenure, Amaechi highlighted major achievements, including building schools modeled after Australian designs, hiring 400 doctors, providing housing and vehicles for rural medical personnel, and launching free education initiatives. He lamented that many of these projects, including a sports village and a mother-and-child hospital, have since been abandoned.
“That gives me mental disorder,” he said emotionally, blaming current and past administrations for neglecting people-centric infrastructure.
As Minister of Transportation, Amaechi listed key projects he either initiated or completed, including the Lagos-Ibadan and Kaduna-Abuja railways, Port Harcourt-Kano line, and the Lekki deep sea port. “Don’t give me an assignment if you don’t want it done,” he said.
On politics, Amaechi distanced himself from both the All Progressives Congress (APC) and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), citing growing disenchantment. Despite playing a pivotal role in APC’s rise, he criticized the ruling class for “weaponizing poverty” and weakening Nigeria’s democracy.
He also targeted the current INEC leadership, contrasting its operations with that of Attahiru Jega in 2015. “What we have now is state capture using the electoral institution as a machine,” he warned.
In a candid moment, Amaechi clarified past statements about his Igbo identity, saying it was a form of political protest, though his community shares cultural and linguistic ties with the Igbo.