By Nahum Sule, Jalingo
The Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, has accused former Minister of Transportation and ex-Governor of Rivers State, Rotimi Amaechi, of mismanaging public funds on projects that yielded no results, describing him as unfit for national leadership.
Wike, who spoke during an interview on Politics Today with Seun Okinbaloye on Channels Television, alleged that Amaechi spent $30 million on the foundation of a hospital in Port Harcourt, but left nothing to show for the huge expenditure.
“Where is the hospital? Even the foundation that was supposed to be there has disappeared. Thirty million dollars went into that project, yet not a block has been laid,” Wike stated.
The minister also took a swipe at the controversial Port Harcourt monorail project, which was initiated under Amaechi’s administration as governor. According to him, the project gulped ₦74 billion for a single kilometer of track, yet the railway system has remained abandoned and non-functional more than a decade later.
“How can such a person come out and say he will fight corruption in one month? He cannot even get the ticket of the African Democratic Congress (ADC). The last person Nigeria should ever entrust with a presidential ticket is Amaechi, because that project will be dead on arrival,” Wike declared.
Political Rivalry Rekindled
The remarks are the latest in a long-standing political feud between Wike and Amaechi, two of Rivers State’s most influential political figures. Their rivalry dates back to 2007 when Amaechi became governor and Wike served as his Chief of Staff. The relationship soured after Amaechi defected from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to the All Progressives Congress (APC) in 2013, leaving Wike to consolidate power within the PDP.
Wike governed Rivers State between 2015 and 2023 and is now a minister in President Bola Tinubu’s administration. Amaechi, on the other hand, rose to national prominence as Minister of Transportation under President Muhammadu Buhari, where he spearheaded rail projects across the country but faced criticism over costs and project execution.
Questioning Amaechi’s Political Strength
Beyond project failures, Wike also questioned Amaechi’s political weight. He mocked the former minister’s inability to deliver electoral victories in Rivers State for the APC despite serving as the Director-General of Buhari’s presidential campaigns in both 2015 and 2019.
“Even as the DG of Buhari’s campaign, he couldn’t deliver 15 percent of the votes in Rivers. That tells you everything about his political relevance,” Wike said.
2027 Elections in View
The comments come as political alignments and re-alignments intensify ahead of the 2027 general elections. Analysts believe Wike’s outburst may be aimed at discrediting Amaechi’s possible political comeback, particularly within the APC, where the former minister has remained relatively quiet since losing the party’s presidential ticket to Bola Tinubu in 2022.
