Former Rivers State Governor Rotimi Amaechi has responded to Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, stating he will not participate in a verbal war with “children”.
Amaechi made the remark on Tuesday during an appearance on ARISE TV, in reaction to Wike’s criticism of his recent comments about Nigeria’s starvation situation.
“God, Peter Odili, the judiciary and the Rivers State people made me governor. Ask him how he made me governor. I’m saying this because I don’t want to join issues with children,” Amaechi said.
The exchange originated from Amaechi’s earlier comments at his 60th birthday celebration, where he expressed concern about the economic hardship in the country.
“Nigerian elites are not the problems of Nigeria. The problems of Nigeria are the followership. There are no capitalists in Nigeria; capitalists are those with capital to invest for production. Do we produce here? I look at Nigeria and ask what are we doing here? Do we really want to be a country? What is important is how do we change this country?
“We’re all hungry; all of us are. If you’re not hungry, I am. For us, the opposition, if you want us to remove the man in power, we can remove him from this power,” Amaechi said.
Wike, during a media chat on Monday, refuted Amaechi’s comments as “politically motivated” and accused him of trivialising the plight of Nigerians.
“He did not talk about hunger. He became a minister — super minister of transportation. He did not talk about hunger. Two years after he left office and as a member of the coalition, he is talking about hunger. He is just hungry for power,” Wike said.
“How do you insult Nigerians and trivialise poverty and hunger? You are insulting Nigerians. It is just that you have stayed out of power — that is the hunger.”
In his answer, Amaechi refuted Wike’s claim that he played a role in his election as governor, claiming that his triumph was the result of divine intervention, legal victory, and the support of Rivers State residents.
The former minister of transport also explained his decision to select Wike as chief of staff rather than commissioner of finance, stressing the need for constant oversight.
He said, “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.”
He added, “You know, he made himself chief of staff. He made himself governor. He made himself minister. He made himself local government chairman.”
Amaechi also berated Wike’s political conduct, saying, “There’s no more respect for family names. People just do and say anything.”
