Amaechi a political liability with no electoral value in Rivers — Wike

The Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, has described former Minister of Transportation, Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi, as a “political liability” with no significant electoral value in Rivers State or the wider South-South region.

Wike stated this during a media chat in Abuja on Tuesday, while questioning the reported consideration of Amaechi as a running mate to former Vice President Atiku Abubakar.

According to him, any decision to select Amaechi as a vice-presidential candidate would be based on financial considerations rather than his ability to deliver votes.

“If you are choosing a vice-presidential candidate, a running mate, I'm sure the only factor that has been used to choose Rotimi Amaechi may be financial because the former governor lacks the capacity to deliver votes,” Wike said.

The FCT Minister cited previous election results to support his claim, arguing that Amaechi had failed to secure significant votes for presidential candidates he supported in Rivers State despite occupying influential political positions.

“He has never won a presidential election after 2011 when I was the Director of Campaign. Never! He was the Director-General of Buhari in 2015 when he was governor; why did he not get 25%?

“He was the DG in 2019 when he was a Super Minister; why did he not get 25%? He supported Atiku in 2023; how come he didn't get 15%?” Wike queried.

Wike said a genuine political asset should be a former governor who retains substantial political followership and can point to tangible achievements delivered to his state while serving in the federal government.

He challenged Amaechi to identify the direct benefits his leadership brought to the people of Rivers State and the South-South region.

The minister also accused the former transportation minister of political inconsistency, alleging that Amaechi had previously criticised the All Progressives Congress (APC) primaries as irregular and corrupt but later participated in or benefited from the same political process.

“This was the same man, just one month ago, who said the APC primary is manual, irregularity, and corruption.

“How can we talk about removing a government that we are saying there is no election, and then we are in another election?

“The same man now is benefiting from the corruption, from irregularities of the same system,” he said.

Wike further argued that Amaechi’s past political decisions could affect his acceptance in the South-South, particularly his opposition to former President Goodluck Jonathan, a fellow South-South indigene, during the 2015 presidential election.

He also referred to Amaechi’s alleged role in the controversy surrounding the removal of former Chief Justice of Nigeria, Justice Walter Onnoghen.

“A South-South person wanted to go for a second term. You were proud you kicked him out. Now, will South-South be happy for you to be Vice President?

“You think that people have forgotten?” Wike asked.

The minister said voters in the region would continue to hold political leaders accountable for their past decisions.

Wike also highlighted what he described as the unprecedented federal attention currently being given to Rivers State, citing major infrastructure projects, including the Bonny Road project.

He contrasted the development with previous administrations, arguing that Rivers State had not received the same level of federal attention despite the state's former political leaders maintaining close relationships with successive presidents.

“Never in the history of Rivers State, from 1999, of those who claimed to be very close to the President, have we had the type of attention that Rivers State has now,” Wike said.

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