Former Minister of Transportation and ex-Governor of Rivers State, Rotimi Amaechi, has refused to respond in kind to recent jabs from the current Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, describing the remarks as “childish” and unworthy of engagement.
Amaechi’s statement was made during an interview on Arise Television on Tuesday, in response to Wike’s sharp criticism of his recent comments on the state of hunger in Nigeria.
Amaechi, during his 60th birthday celebration last week, had lamented the economic hardship in the country, saying, “We are all hungry, all of us are. If you’re not hungry, I am.” The remark, seen by some as politically loaded, has sparked widespread commentary, including from Wike.
In a fiery response, Wike mocked Amaechi, suggesting his remarks were less about national concern and more about political ambition. “We have no time to listen to nonsense in Nigeria,” Wike said. “I don’t understand why a man like Amaechi would choose his 60th birthday to lie about being hungry. He was Speaker from 1999 to 2007, Governor from 2007 to 2015, and Minister from 2015 to 2023. He never spoke about hunger during those years.”
Wike continued, “Now they are regrouping. They are only hungry for power. He cannot stay out of it. This shows his failure.”
But Amaechi has opted for restraint. “I don’t want to join issues with children,” he said during the Arise interview. “I was once his boss, whether he likes it or not. I hired him. I could have said no.”
Refuting Wike’s past claim that he made him governor in 2007, Amaechi said, “God, Peter Odili, the judiciary, and the people of Rivers State made me governor. Ask him how he made me governor. I wanted him as Chief of Staff so I could supervise him. I didn’t offer him the Commissioner of Finance position. He made himself chief of staff, governor, minister, and local government chairman.”
The latest round of public sparring rekindles a political rivalry that dates back over a decade. In 2021, Wike had stated that he was instrumental in Amaechi’s emergence as governor, even referencing a church recording where Amaechi allegedly acknowledged him as a key figure in his political ascent.
“He stood before the church and said, after God, I’m next,” Wike had said. “But he went on national television to call me his employee. How do you call someone who made you governor an employee?”
In his Tuesday interview, Amaechi brushed off those claims as revisionist and further criticized what he called the “loss of respect for family names” in Nigerian politics. “People say and do anything. I’ve moved on,” he added.
As the political rivalry between the two former allies-turned-opponents continues to unfold, many observers view the exchange as a reflection of deeper tensions within Rivers State politics and the broader political landscape leading into future elections.
