Wike Accuses Amaechi, Rivers APC Guber Candidate Of Working Against Tinubu

Gov., Rivers State, Nyesom Wike And Former Minister Of Transportation, Rotimi Amaechi.

With barely two days to the governorship and state assembly elections in Rivers State, Governor Nyesom Wike has once again fired another salvo the way of his predecessor and longtime political foe, Rotimi Amaechi.

According to reports that Wike of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and Amaechi of the All Progressives Congress (APC) have enjoyed a disharmonious relationship since their political journeys took different trajectories prior to the 2015 general elections.

The latest instalment in a series of bad blood comes during a televised state broadcast on Thursday, March 16, 2023, where the current governor accused his predecessor of a number of atrocities including the fact that he worked against his party’s candidate in the just concluded presidential election.

It’d be recalled that Wike, alongside four other aggrieved governors of the PDP, popularly known as the G-5, vehemently opposed their party’s presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar, over claims that power must return to the southern part of the country after President Muhammadu Buhari’s eight-year tenure.

However, as things get heated ahead of the guber election this Saturday, Wike urged the Rivers people not to entrust Amaechi and the APC candidate, Tonye Cole, with power over their opposition to a southern presidency.

“Rotimi Amaechi and Tonye Cole actively worked against the power shift to the south and worked against their party presidential candidate in Rivers State. When the president-elect emerged as the winner, Tonye Cole rushed to congratulate him on his Instagram handle but deleted it fast when he was criticised for his dishonest, hypocritical, and opportunistic behaviour,” Wike said.

Although he didn’t publicly declare support for another candidate, it’s widely believed that the governor worked to deliver Rivers State for the president-elect, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, and has also expressed his satisfaction to see a southerner emerge as the next president.

Speaking further, the governor accused Amaechi and Cole of refusing to come forward to clear their names in a case of alleged diversion of the state’s $50m.

He also alleged that the former Transportation Minister was attempting to stoke tension between Rivers people and the Igbo population in a bid to deceive them to vote for Cole in the forthcoming election.

“Recently he threw caution to the wind with his irresponsible comments on the emotive abandoned property issue in a desperate attempt to deceive the Igbo population into voting for his uninspiring APC governorship candidate, Tonye Cole.

“Igbos and Rivers people have lived harmoniously together for decades as brothers and sisters without any issues. We will continue to appreciate our Igbo brothers and friends as among the most significant investors and contributors to the development of Rivers State.

“Our fraternal ties will continue forever as nobody can ever divide us. Therefore, it’s regrettable for Rotimi Amaechi to now thoughtlessly attempt to instigate hostilities between brothers and sisters to advance selfish political objectives.”