Former Minister of Transportation and ex-Governor of Rivers State, Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi, has refuted recent claims made by his successor, Nyesom Wike, about being denied the role of Commissioner for Finance, asserting that Wike’s rise in politics was self-engineered.
In a no-holds-barred interview on ARISE News on Tuesday, Amaechi debunked the narrative that Wike had requested to be made Finance Commissioner but was turned down.
“It is not true that I flew all the way from Abuja to court that Wike asked me to make him commissioner for finance and I said no,” Amaechi stated. “He made himself Chief of Staff. He made himself Governor. He made himself Minister. He made himself Local Government Chairman.”
The comment underscores the ongoing rift between the two political titans of Rivers State, both of whom have maintained a long and bitter rivalry since their fallout after Amaechi’s tenure as governor.
Amaechi further clarified that his own path to the governorship was not by appointment but by legal victory. “Nobody made me governor. I went to court. At the end of the day, the judiciary pronounced me governor,” he said, acknowledging the support of Dr. Peter Odili and the Nigerian judiciary in that process.
Reflecting on his achievements, Amaechi highlighted numerous infrastructural and educational strides made during his administration: building flyovers modeled after what he saw in Australia, establishing fully residential secondary schools, hiring 400 doctors, and initiating free education programs that made public schools more attractive than private ones.
He lamented the current state of abandonment of key projects started under his administration, including a mother and child hospital and a proposed sports village. “That gives me mental disorder,” Amaechi said, visibly emotional over what he described as the “vandalisation” and neglect of public assets.
Speaking on his time as Minister of Transportation, Amaechi cited major accomplishments such as the Lagos-Ibadan and Kaduna-Abuja railways, the Lekki deep sea port, and the Port Harcourt-Kano line. He stated unequivocally: “Don’t give me an assignment if you don’t want it done.”
On the political front, Amaechi expressed deep disillusionment with both the APC and PDP, indicating he no longer supports either party. He criticised the growing economic hardship in the country, accusing politicians of “weaponising poverty.”
Turning his attention to electoral integrity, Amaechi condemned what he termed “state capture” of the electoral process, alleging that the current INEC lacks the transparency seen under former chairman Attahiru Jega in 2015. “Now, it’s state capture using the electoral institution as a machine,” he warned.
In a reflective moment, Amaechi addressed controversies over his ethnic identity, admitting that publicly claiming to be Igbo was a political statement “in protest” over the marginalisation of the Igbo people. He defended the cultural and linguistic connections between his Ikwerre heritage and the broader Igbo identity.
Amaechi’s remarks are the latest in the ongoing war of words between him and Wike, as the political future of Rivers State continues to be shaped by their rivalry and legacy.
