The Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, has strongly criticized former Rivers State Governor Rotimi Amaechi for attributing his mother’s death to President Bola Tinubu’s economic policies. Wike accused his political rival of politicizing a personal tragedy for sympathy.
Addressing the Uzugbani Ekpeye National Executive Council in Ahoada on Saturday, Wike expressed outrage over Amaechi’s remarks made during a television interview on Friday. Amaechi had claimed that the rising cost of medications under the current administration prevented him from affording essential drugs for his late mother, Mary Amaechi.
“Tinubu’s policies killed my mother. Before Tinubu came, my mother was healthy. After 2023, it was difficult for me to buy drugs for my mother,” Amaechi stated during the interview.
Wike dismissed the assertion, highlighting Amaechi’s extensive career in high-ranking public office. He pointed out that Amaechi served as Speaker of the Rivers State House of Assembly, governor, and Minister of Transportation for eight years each, spanning a combined 24 years in senior government positions.
The FCT minister questioned how someone with such a background could claim financial inability to purchase medical supplies. He also noted that Amaechi’s family financial standing, referencing his wife as an industrialist, contradicted the narrative of severe hardship.
Furthermore, Wike argued that Amaechi had access to wealthy associates with private jets who traveled to attend the burial in September 2026. He suggested that assistance could easily have been sought if financial constraints genuinely existed.
Wike also condemned comments regarding the 2027 general elections, where Amaechi allegedly linked his late mother’s happiness to a victory by the African Democratic Congress (ADC). The minister called the remark an inappropriate use of a deceased relative in political discourse.
“It is unfortunate people can descend so low to use their mother to play politics,” Wike said, urging the public to allow the late matriarch to rest in peace.
The exchange marks the latest development in a long-standing political feud between the two former allies, who have increasingly traded public barbs over governance and accountability in Rivers State.
