The FCT minister also wants TV stations to question Amaechi about $39 million meant for a Rivers hospital.
FCT Minister Nyesom Wike challenges former Rivers State governor Rotimi Amaechi to account for the sale of state-owned turbines. Wike made the demand over the weekend at a town hall meeting in Etche Local Government Area. Local stakeholders, including the Ogbakor Etche, attended the gathering. Amaechi is now the ADC vice-presidential candidate.
Wike put the alleged value of the 2012 sale at $308 million. The turbines belonged to Rivers State, so Wike wants a full public account of the proceeds. Moreover, he asked Amaechi to explain how his administration spent the money. He also wanted to know what benefit the people of Etche received. Wike has raised the issue before, but he pressed it harder this time. So far, no report quotes Amaechi responding to the claims.
After that, Wike turned his attention to the media. He urged national television stations to invite Amaechi for an interview and question him about the money. Specifically, he named Arise TV, AIT, News Central and TVC. In addition, he asked the stations to press Amaechi on $39 million. According to Wike, the Amaechi government earmarked that money for the Karibi-Whyte Hospital. Wike wants Amaechi to account for those funds too.
Wike also accused some media houses of shielding Amaechi from tough questions. “They are mischievous,” he said. Consequently, he dared the stations to prove him wrong by putting the questions to the former governor directly. He stressed that the people of Etche should know what they gained from the sale.
Meanwhile, the turbine challenge came amid a separate row over Amaechi’s mother. Amaechi appeared on Channels Television’s Politics Today on Friday, October 2. There, he claimed that President Bola Tinubu’s policies contributed to his mother’s death. According to Amaechi, those policies made her medication hard for his family to afford.
Wike hit back on Saturday during a visit to the Uzugbani Ekpeye National Executive Council in Ahoada East. He accused Amaechi of using his mother’s death for political purposes. “Anybody who watched television last night would cry,” Wike said. Then he asked, “How can you bring a loved one who just died to bring in politics?”
Wike also doubted Amaechi’s claim that he could not afford the medicine. For example, he pointed to Amaechi’s years as Speaker of the Rivers State House of Assembly from 1999 to 2007. He added that Amaechi served as a minister from 2015 to 2023. Furthermore, Wike asked why Amaechi did not seek help from friends and associates. He also noted that Amaechi describes his wife as an industrialist. In that case, he asked, why could she not give him money for the drugs?
Wike went further. He said Amaechi had suggested his late mother would be happy if the ADC won the 2027 election. In response, Wike predicted that the party will not win. He said he had always believed that “we must respect our parents.” He even said he would rather be childless than have such a child.
The two men share a long political history. Wike succeeded Amaechi as Rivers governor in 2015, and Amaechi boycotted his inauguration. Now the 2027 campaign gives their rivalry new fuel. Their feud plays out in public, on television and at town halls.
The allegations matter because they involve public money and a leading opposition figure. Voters in Rivers State will likely watch how Amaechi answers. Besides, Wike’s attack on the press adds a second storyline about media scrutiny.
The next move may come from the television stations Wike named. If they invite Amaechi, he will face direct questions on camera. However, Amaechi has not answered the allegations yet, and the claims remain unverified. Sojworldnews will update this story when Amaechi or the ADC responds. Meanwhile, readers can expect more reactions from both camps.
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