Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) and former governor of Rivers State, Nyesom Wike, has launched a scathing rebuttal against his predecessor, Rotimi Amaechi, declaring that the ex-transport minister lacks the political direction and integrity required to earn respect or claim any seniority over him.
He [Amaechi] does not even know his left from his right politically. So, how can he claim he made me? It’s unfair,” Wike said during a guest appearance on Politics Today.
The FCT minister’s comments came in direct response to Amaechi’s claims on the same programme a day earlier, where the former minister said he did not understand why Wike had shown him disrespect despite being older and having groomed him in politics.
“Let the minister of the FCT come; let’s take a walk from the airport to Port Harcourt — no police, no army, nothing, just the two of us. I don’t know why he doesn’t respect people like us; I am older. I brought him up in politics. Who is he? He’s not my age, mate,” Amaechi had said. But Wike fired back, insisting that respect is not a product of age or position but of character.
“First of all, respect should not come because you’re older or because you were once governor. Respect should come from integrity and honour. You shouldn’t be respected just because you are 200 years old,” he said. The former Rivers Governor dismissed the notion that Amaechi had played any pivotal role in his political rise, instead positioning himself as an early player in Rivers politics. He cannot claim to be my senior politically. I contested the chairmanship of one of the most important local governments in this country – Obio-Akpor – in 1998, and I won.” Wike further recalled a time when Amaechi was “struggling” to gain political relevance and needed assistance to be appointed as a lawyer to the Rivers State Government.
When he was struggling, I was already building a structure. He wanted someone to help him be appointed a lawyer. I walked him through. The man he wrote to was loyal to me,” he claimed.
The FCT Minister also criticised Amaechi for repeatedly referring to his past roles, saying it does not guarantee current political relevance.
On the issue of corruption, Wike questioned Amaechi’s claim of not being interested in money. God gives power to whomever He chooses at the right time. What matters is how you use that power to uplift others, not how many years you’ve been around.
“When a man comes in public to say, ‘I don’t like money,’ you know that man is a big liar. Amaechi was Speaker for eight years, Governor for eight years, and Minister for eight years. Nigerians should know the kind of characters deceiving them daily,” he said.
The exchange comes as both men remain key players in Nigeria’s shifting political landscape ahead of the 2027 general elections. Amaechi, now a leading figure in a newly formed political coalition under the African Democratic Congress (ADC), recently affirmed his commitment to power rotation, stating that he would only serve a single term if elected president.
“If I won’t do more than four years, I would say that. If I were to do more than four years, I would say I would do more than four,” Amaechi said on the show. The ADC-led coalition also includes political bigwigs such as former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, 2023 Labour Party presidential candidate Peter Obi, ex-Kaduna governor Nasir El-Rufai, and former Osun governor Rauf Aregbesola.
Wike and Amaechi’s rivalry dates back to their years in Rivers politics. Though Wike once served as Chief of Staff under Amaechi’s administration and was considered his political protégé, the two fell out before the 2015 elections in a battle for control of the state’s political machinery. The public feud is the most recent development in their long-standing political rivalry.