Wike Didn’t Make Me Governor — Amaechi Dismisses Claim
Former Rivers State governor, Rotimi Amaechi, has dismissed claims by Nyesom Wike, the minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), that he made him governor, saying he does not engage in disputes with “children.”
In an interview with Arise Television on Tuesday, Amaechi said Wike was once his chief of staff and politically junior to him.
“I was once his boss. Whether he likes it or not. I hired him. I could have said no,” Amaechi said.
Wike had recently downplayed Amaechi’s remarks about being “hungry”, saying the former minister was “hungry for political power”. Responding, Amaechi said his hunger was similar to what millions of Nigerians were facing.
At his 60th birthday, Amaechi had said, “If you’re not hungry, I am.”
Wike replied, “Amaechi is not hungry for food but for political power.”
Wike also previously said, “I was the one God used to make Amaechi governor. I will even give you a tape from what he said in church; that after God, I’m next. But he went on national television to say that I was his staff, his employee. It wasn’t funny, but I said no problem.
“We all sat to make him the governor and I was the one who championed it. How do you call someone who made you governor an employee?
“Even after he became governor, he sought my advice on how to run his government and offered me commissioner of finance but I rejected the offer because I wanted to be the chief of staff.”
Amaechi, however, rejected Wike’s claim, saying: “God, Peter Odili, the judiciary and the Rivers state people made me governor.
“Ask him how he made me governor. I’m saying this because I don’t want to join issues with children.”
He added that he appointed Wike as chief of staff to monitor him closely.
“I wanted him as chief of staff so I could supervise him. I didn’t offer him commissioner for finance. You see, I’m saying this because I don’t want to join issues with children.
“You know, he made himself chief of staff. He made himself governor. He made himself minister. He made himself local government chairman.”
Amaechi also criticised Wike’s political conduct.
“There’s no more respect for family names. People just do and say anything,” he said.
He said unlike Wike, he did not publicise his achievements as governor.
The former transport minister also expressed disappointment over the state of projects he initiated as governor.
“It distresses me when I see those projects vandalised,” he said.
On the conduct of elections, Amaechi criticised Mahmood Yakubu, chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
“The current chairman of INEC, if he was the chairman in 2015, we would not have won. That’s an important point.
“May God bless Jega. It’s a very interesting point. Because the ground rules were clear.
“The current chairman of INEC can only be compared to Iwu. When we were to register APC, Jega opened the door and we complied with the registration requirements. He got APC registered. The current man, if you comply with all these, he would not register you. Already INEC is biased.
“So, the only thing I can tell you now is that looking at the way Nigeria has run the election, even the option A4 led us forward. At least a lot of transparency.
“You were sure of what was going on. Then we came back to meet people like Iwu and others and the current one and things got worse.
“So, you don’t know whether to say we are progressing or we are regressing… there’s a state capture using the electoral institution as a machine.”
Amaechi called Jega “a man of conscience” and accused Yakubu of blocking new parties.
“Already he (Yakubu) is stopping parties from being registered. Already, INEC has taken sides. INEC is no longer the umpire,” he said.
He also said the current administration is disobeying the constitution and suppressing opposition.
“One funny thing about the current government is that they don’t even obey laws. They don’t obey the constitution. They’re not allowing the opposition to register political parties,” he said.
“I was 34 when I became speaker. The process was a bit more transparent than you have now.”
On the political tension in Rivers, he faulted the suspension of Governor Siminalayi Fubara and also raised questions about the use of funds saved from subsidy removal.
“The president removed the subsidy. Where is the money?” he asked.
“The president removed the subsidy on electricity. It got to a point where oil subsidies got to N8 trillion.
“If we deploy N8 trillion into this economy now, it will feel the impact. Let me also tell you, do we need the coastal road in the manner that it was awarded? Yes, the south-south needs the road.
“But fix the east-west road. I don’t know how many trillions. If we deploy that money to the economy, it will change our lives. Who is collecting that money? The president needs to tell us.”
Titilope Adako is a talented and intrepid journalist, dedicated to shedding light on the untold stories of Osun State and Nigeria. Through incisive reporting, she tackles a broad spectrum of topics, from politics and social justice to culture and entertainment, with a commitment to accuracy, empathy, and inspiring positive change.
