Declares Amaechi’s presidential bid dead on arrival
By Eshiorameh Sebastian in Abuja
The Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, has accused his predecessor, Rotimi Amaechi, of promoting a national scam through his promises to combat corruption if elected president of Nigeria.
This is just as he declared that the 2027 presidential ambition of former Minister of Transportation is dead on arrival, insisting that Amaechi would be the last person considered for the party’s ticket.
Wike governor made the allegations on Tuesday during an appearance on Channels Television’s Politics Today programme.
He questioned how a man who, as governor of Rivers State, “refused the Judiciary to operate” could now claim to have solutions to the country’s corruption challenges.
“A man who will stop corruption sealed up the State High Court for almost two years,” Mr Wike said.
He detailed a series of what he called evidence of corruption from Amaechi’s time in office. “What can be more corruption when you don’t want an arm of government to exist?” he asked.
Wike cited the case of a state owned gas turbine. “A man who wants to stop corruption sold our Gas Turbine of about $308m to the Sahara. Where is the money? Which account did he pay it into?”, he asked again.
He also questioned the whereabouts of funds for other projects. “He spent $30m on Karibi Whyte Hospital. Where is the foundation of the hospital? The Monorail he spent N74bn. Where’s the Monorail?”
The minister further alleged the improper sale of state assets. “He took our legacy plane to Germany, and for twelve years, no record. What of our Dash 8? He sold it to his friend, the former governor of Cross River State, Imoke, for $5m. Where’s the money?”
Mr Wike pointed to judicial inquiries that he stated indicted Mr Amaechi. “He was indicted by the Judiciary Panel of Inquiry… he ran to the same court he never wanted to function, and the court said yes, the Panel was right. He ran to the Court of Appeal and the Court of Appeal said the Panel was right. He ran to the Supreme Court and the Supreme Court said the Panel was right.”
Concluding his argument, Wike said, “This is a man who will stop corruption in one month, and he thinks Nigerians are daft.”
Wike continued with the plan of Ameachi to win the ADC ticket, declaring that his 2027 presidential ambition to become Nigeria’s president is dead on arrival.
He ridiculed the former Rivers governor’s recent claim that he knew the weaknesses of President Tinubu and could defeat him, saying the former Rivers governor had been “mercilessly” defeated in past contests.
He said: “The last person they will give a ticket to is Amaechi. That is dead on arrival. In 2014 and 2015, when he was governor, we defeated him. In 2019, when he was Minister and Director General of Buhari’s campaign, we also defeated him. Even in 2023, when he supported another candidate, he still lost. So how would he now claim the capacity to win?” Wike queried.
The minister maintained that Amaechi’s record against Tinubu during the 2022 APC presidential primary shows he lacks the political strength to actualize a presidential bid, even in a new party platform.
Wike also advised the former Governor of Sokoto State, Aminu Tambuwal to clear his name before the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission EFCC instead of politicizing his recent invitation by the anti-graft agency.
These allegations are coming just less than two months after Wike accused Amaechi’s wife of not just receiving, but diverting funds from a N4 billion Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) contract awarded to her company for training women.
He asserted she had no industrial background to legitimately execute the project. Wike claimed a forensic audit into the NDDC details this and other acts of corruption, but was suppressed by former Attorney General Abubakar Malami to protect powerful figures. He appealed to President Tinubu to release the full report, vowing to resign as FCT Minister if his allegations are proven false.
The public animosity between Nyesom Wike and Rotimi Amaechi is a defining feature of modern Rivers State politics. Amaechi, as governor from 2007 to 2015, was a powerful figure in the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and later a key leader in the All Progressives Congress (APC).
Wike served as Chief of Staff during Amaechi’s first term and was later a minister in President Goodluck Jonathan’s government. Their relationship fractured completely when Amaechi defected to the APC in 2013, while Wike remained in the PDP.
Wike succeeded Amaechi as governor in 2015 after a fiercely contested election. Since then, they have been entrenched political enemies. Wike’s administration frequently accused Amaechi of massive corruption, while Amaechi has dismissed his allegations as baseless and politically motivated.
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