In a bold rebuttal to one of the most persistent political claims in Rivers State, former Governor Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi has challenged his successor, Nyesom Wike, to explain how he allegedly “made” him governor — a claim Amaechi insists is both false and unexamined.
Speaking during an interview to mark his 60th birthday, Amaechi dismissed the narrative that his political rise was orchestrated by Wike, calling instead for a deeper public and journalistic inquiry into the origins of such a controversial assertion.
“Nobody made me governor but God, Dr. Peter Odili, and the Nigerian judiciary,” Amaechi declared. “Surprisingly, no journalist has ever asked that man how he supposedly made me governor. It’s a question long overdue.”
Amaechi rose to governorship in 2007 through a landmark Supreme Court verdict after being wrongly substituted by his party. His legal battle — which remains a historic case in Nigeria’s political history — was led by Lateef Fagbemi, now the Attorney General of the Federation.
“I went to court. Lateef Fagbemi fought my case. Maybe you should ask him how it happened,” he added, urging the public to remember the facts of that defining legal journey.
On the claim that he once offered Wike the powerful position of Commissioner for Finance, Amaechi pushed back firmly, revealing that Wike had actually lobbied for the post through external channels.
“I didn’t offer him that role. It was the then Attorney General, Mohammed Bello Adoke, who came to Port Harcourt to advocate for him. I said no, because I preferred him as Chief of Staff where I could directly supervise him.”
Amaechi framed the decision not as a power move but a standard leadership approach, adding, “It simply means the governor supervising his team. Nothing more.”
Taking a swipe at Wike’s political trajectory, Amaechi accused his rival of crafting a myth around his own self-made image.
“He made himself Chief of Staff, made himself Governor, made himself Minister, even made himself local government chairman. Let’s end it there.”
The former Minister of Transportation also expressed dismay over the state of governance in Rivers, lamenting the abandonment of key projects from his tenure, including model schools, health centres, and the Greater Port Harcourt City.
“I no longer visit the state,” he said bluntly. “Because it gives you mental disorder.”
As political tension simmers in Rivers and speculation mounts ahead of the 2027 elections, Amaechi’s comments mark a significant re-entry into public discourse, reigniting old debates and setting the tone for what could become a heated political season.