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Amaechi Replies Wike, Says I Don’t Join Issues with Children
Former Minister of Transport, and two-term Governor of Rivers State, Hon. Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi, has rebutted recent remarks by his immediate successor-turned-political rival, Mr. Nyesom Wike, saying Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) was never offered the position of Commissioner for Finance, and rose politically by his own machinations.
Amaechi, who was speaking during an interview on ARISE News on Tuesday, dismissed claims attributed to Wike that he had declined appointment as finance commissioner.
Amaechi offered a series of clarifications and critiques, signaling a widening rift between the two Rivers State political giants.
He said, “I wanted him (Wike) as Chief of Staff so I could supervise him.
“Mohammed Adoke flew all the way from Abuja to Port Harcourt. That week he asked me to make him commissioner for finance and I said no, he has to work under me. I want him as chief of staff so I can 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. I was once his boss. Whether he likes it or not. I hired him. I could have said no.
“You know, he made himself chief of staff. He made himself governor. He made himself minister. He made himself local government chairman”, he disclosed.
“I didn’t offer him commissioner for finance,” he insisted.
He also defended his own emergence as governor, stating “Nobody made me governor. I went to court. At the end of the day, the judiciary pronounced me governor.” He credited Dr. Peter Odili and the Nigerian judiciary for their roles in his political ascent, maintaining his enduring respect for the former Rivers governor.
Amaechi used the occasion to highlight his record as governor, from building multiple flyovers and schools “copied from the ones I saw in Australia,” to establishing fully residential secondary schools, equipping hospitals, and implementing a free education program that drove many students from private to public schools. He said 400 doctors were hired during his tenure, cars and housing were provided for rural medical staff, and infrastructure projects—including a sports village and a mother and child hospital—were initiated but have since been abandoned.
“That gives me mental disorder,” Amaechi said emotionally, blaming successive administrations for the neglect. “Projects that would make a real difference in the lives of Rivers people have been vandalised and forgotten.”
As Minister of Transportation, he recounted completing or initiating several landmark projects, including the Lagos-Ibadan railway, Lekki deep sea port, Kaduna-Abuja railway, and the Port Harcourt-Kano line. “Don’t give me an assignment if you don’t want it done,” he stated firmly.
On party politics, Amaechi reiterated his disillusionment with both the APC and PDP, stating he will no longer work for either. Despite playing a key role in the APC’s rise to power between 2013 and 2015, he now distances himself from its current direction and leadership. While he expressed appreciation to former President Muhammadu Buhari for the opportunities to serve, he criticised the state of governance, the electoral system, and growing poverty, accusing political elites of “weaponising poverty.”
He also criticised the current INEC chairman and the inability of Nigeria’s electoral system to support new political parties, contrasting it with the more transparent process under former INEC Chairman Attahiru Jega in 2015. “Now, it’s state capture using the electoral institution as a machine,” he warned.
In one of the more reflective moments of the interview, Amaechi addressed questions about his ethnic identity, saying his public assertion of being Igbo was political—”in protest” against the treatment of Igbos at a particular time. He challenged those who questioned his identity, saying his community’s cultural and linguistic ties to the Igbo are undeniable.
Arise News
World-renowned boxer Anthony Joshua on Monday survived a ghastly road accident in Makun, Ogun State.
Eyewitnesses report that the incident occurred along a busy highway of the Lagos-Ibadan expressway.
The vehicle carrying Joshua, a Lexus Jeep with the number plate, KRD 850 HN, reportedly collided with a stationary truck under circumstances that are still being investigated.
Joshua reportedly sustained minor injuries, while two persons were said to have died on the spot.
Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has cautioned that any attempt to hurriedly re‑gazette Nigeria’s new tax laws could undermine parliamentary oversight and set a dangerous constitutional precedent.
Atiku’s warning follows public scrutiny over reports that the Tax Reform Acts signed by President Bola Tinubu differ from the versions passed by the National Assembly. Lawmakers, including Abdussamad Dasuki, raised concerns that the alterations could pose serious legal and constitutional risks, noting that they were not backed by any constitutional framework.
In a statement on X, Atiku said the directive to re-gazette the Acts effectively confirms “that the gazetted version of the Tinubu Tax Act does not reflect what was duly passed by the National Assembly,” calling it “a grave constitutional issue.”
He emphasized that under Section 58 of the 1999 Constitution, a bill only becomes law after passage by both chambers, presidential assent, and gazetting.
“Gazetting is merely an administrative act of publication. It does not create, amend, or validate a law,” Atiku said, adding that any post-passage insertion, deletion, or modification without legislative approval constitutes forgery rather than a clerical error.
Atiku further warned that rushing a re-gazetting while legislative investigations are ongoing “undermines parliamentary oversight and sets a dangerous precedent,” stressing that the only lawful approach is “fresh legislative consideration, re-passage by both chambers, fresh presidential assent, and proper gazetting.”
The former vice president clarified that his position is not opposition to tax reform but a defence of constitutional order.
“This is a defence of the integrity of the legislative process and a rejection of any attempt to normalise constitutional breaches through procedural shortcuts,” he said.
The Federal government has denied wrongdoing, insisting the laws will take effect as scheduled on January 1, 2026, while the National Assembly has directed the issuance of Certified True Copies of the Acts to ensure clarity and accuracy.
Barring unforeseen circumstances, the Labour Party (LP) Presidential Candidate in the 2023 elections, Mr. Peter Obi, is set to formally join the African Democratic Congress (ADC) on December 31, 2025.
The development would put to rest months of speculation about where the former Governor of Anambra State would pitch his tent in the coming elections.
Reports claim that Obi would be defecting with serving senators and other lawmakers elected on the platform of the LP, as well as remnants of the Peoples’ Democratic Party (PDP) in the South East region.
Specifically, Obi would be defecting alongside the Senator representing Anambra Central, Victor Umeh; that of Anambra North, Tony Nwoye; Abia South, Enyinnaya Abaribe; PDP chieftain Ben Obi; and members of the Obidient movement in the region.
It is not clear if the Abia State governor, Alex Otti, is part of the planned movement to the ADC.
The governor was recently approached by the PDP to join the party and re-contest his current position in 2027.
Further reports quoted Obi’s spokesperson, Valentine Obienyem, as confirming the planned defection of his boss to the ADC.
“Yes, it is true,” he reportedly said on Sunday.
Senator Umeh said the event would hold in Enugu, adding that it would involve all Obi’s supporters across the South East region.
“They will come from Abia, Anambra, Ebonyi and Imo states to join those in Enugu, where this exercise will hold on 31st December,” he reportedly added.
Sources hinted that Obi, who has not hidden his intention to appear on the ballot in 2027, would contest the presidential ticket of the ADC.
On his part, Chief Chekwas Okorie, reportedly said that the expected formal defection of Obi to the ADC is a healthy development that could reshape the thinking and permutations of the 2027 general elections.
“I imagine that he would be defecting along with most of his associates and followers. I believe that a fortified and strong ADC will add value to the opposition and assuage the general fear of a possible one-party option to Nigerians come 2027. The APC, ADC and possibly the PDP locking horns in the 2027 democratic encounter promises a vibrant and robust electioneering campaign that will provide Nigerians the required options to make informed choices in electing their preferred leaders at all levels. I imagine that the APC leadership will return to the drawing table to map out the strategy to confront the emerging challenge. Nigerians are in interesting times,” Okorie stated.
National President of Njiko Igbo Forum (NIF), Rev Okechukwu Obioha, vouched support for Obi to ensure he reaches the pinnacle of his political career. He, however, cautioned that the ADC should not compromise merit and integrity in the choice of its presidential candidate, stressing that Obi remains the “hope for the restoration of the country on the path of greatness.”
