Former Rivers State Governor Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi has refuted claims by his successor, Nyesom Wike, that he was responsible for making Wike governor.
Amaechi challenged journalists and the public to investigate the origin of such an assertion.
In a recent interview marking his 60th birthday, Amaechi clarified that his own emergence as governor in 2007 was a result of a judicial process, not political patronage.
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“Nobody made me governor but God, Dr. Peter Odili, and the Nigerian judiciary,” he declared.
He expressed surprise that no journalist has ever questioned Wike on his claim of making him governor.
Amaechi, whose candidacy was reinstated by a landmark Supreme Court ruling before the 2007 elections, emphasized the judiciary’s decisive role.
“I went to court. Lateef Fagbemi was my lawyer. He’s now the Attorney General of the Federation. Maybe you should ask him.”
The former governor also denied offering Wike the position of Commissioner for Finance in his administration. Amaechi stated that former Attorney General of the Federation, Mohammed Bello Adoke, had informed him of Wike’s interest in that portfolio.
“And I said no, because he has to work under me. I wanted him as Chief of Staff so that I can supervise him,” Amaechi explained, dismissing suggestions of mistrust.
He added, “He made himself Chief of Staff, he made himself Governor, he made himself Minister, he made himself local government chairman. So end it there. Don’t go further.”
Amaechi, who also served as a two-term Speaker of the Rivers State House of Assembly and Minister of Transportation under President Muhammadu Buhari, used the interview to reflect on his career and the state of Rivers under his successors.
He voiced disappointment over the abandonment of many projects he initiated, including model secondary schools, health centers, and the Greater Port Harcourt City project.
When asked why he no longer visits Rivers State, Amaechi gave a concise response: “That’s why I don’t go to Rivers State, because it gives you mental disorder.”
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