Barely two weeks after Governor Nyesom Wike of River State declared for presidency on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), his arguably fiercest political rival and former boss, Rotimi Amaechi, also joined the race in style under the All Progressives Congress (APC).
Once upon mutual political allies, things went south between the Minister of Transportation and the governor when the former defected to the APC in 2014 preparatory to the 2015 general elections.
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It soon became a battle of wits between Wike, a former lieutenant who was running for the governorship of the state, and Amaechi, the then incumbent governor, who wanted to bequeath the seat of power to his anointed candidate, Dakuku Peterside.
However, Wike’s landslide victory in the election raised a red flag on Amaechi’s political clout in the state though the latter also succeeded in teaming up with the APC at the national level to send former President Goodluck Jonathan, whom Wike supported, out of Aso Rock.
In the past seven years, the verbal war between the duo has deepened dramatically, just as the rivalry between their parties.
Last year, there were defections from PDP to APC and vice-versa in River as Wike and Amaechi tested their popularity.
While receiving the defectors to the APC, Amaechi used the occasion to get at his successor. He attributed the rise in crime in parts of the state to high unemployment. He said as a governor, his administration created job opportunities for youths through many agricultural programmes but the current administration destroyed the programmes.
He said, “Rivers State is in danger, completely; a state where properties are collected and somebody is busy building everywhere and nobody is talking. When I was governor, God knows, I did my best. I did not build only roads, I built schools; I built electricity and I built farms. I created employment. Rivers State was not among the highest unemployed community in Nigeria.
“Because I felt that you employed me. I was not your master; I was your servant. I was not a contractor. I paid contractors so that they can pay their workers and the money will circulate. The reason why crime is high in Rivers State is because of unemployment. That is the reason why we had the Songhai Farm. Today, the Songhai Farm is gone. That is why we had the Banana Farm that they stopped in Khana.
“That is why we had fish farms and that is why we were building a farm in Etche. We were doing all those things to create employment for the youths. That is why we hired 13,200 teachers and that is why we sent our children overseas to study.”
But Wike didn’t let go Amaechi’s jibes. He said it was disingenuous of the minister to attribute insecurity in the state to unemployment, asking whether the same factor “is fuelling insecurity in Kaduna, Plateau, Borno, Yobe, Ondo, Ebonyi, Imo, Niger states governed by the APC.”
“Is he (Amaechi) trying to indict his boss, President Muhammad Buhari, who is the Commander-in-Chief of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, and who is constitutionally saddled with the responsibility to provide security for Nigerians? It is a well-known fact that Amaechi is the one who appoints every Commissioner of Police that has been posted to Rivers State since 2015. So, if there is any security failure, he is to blame.
“Perhaps, the minister is happy that members of the proscribed Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) are killing innocent policemen, who were protecting lives and property. Is Amaechi happy that the weapons of the slain security personnel were carted away by the hoodlums? Amaechi, from all indication, has lost focus and is now frustrated,” the governor further remarked.
Reacting to Amaechi’s allegation that he was acquiring property in the state, Wike said it was better to buy property in Nigeria than to do so in Ghana in veiled reference to Amaechi.
In one instance, Wike boasted to be instrumental to making Amaechi governor while responding to the minister who called him his former employee. Wike served as chief of staff under Amaechi-led administration in Rivers.
Amaechi’s remark was in response to Wike’s allegation that he (Amaechi) diverted the state funds and was being shielded from prosecution by the Federal Government.
The back and forth exchange lingers as the two political actors struggle to expand and firm up their political dominance ahead of 2023 general elections.
Declaring for presidency penultimate Sunday during a visit to Governor Samuel Ortom of Benue State, Wike boasted he had the capacity to win the 2023 presidential election for PDP.
Amaechi, who had denied interest in the race on several occasions, declared his ambition at Amiesimaka Stadium Port Harcourt on Saturday at the APC thanksgiving service.
He said, “I stand before you today to declare my intention and submit my application to serve as your next President.”
Now that the sworn opponents have made it clear they are gunning for the highest office in the country, there is bound to be renewed tantrums flying freely across the two camps in the days ahead while they both jostle for the presidential ticket of their respective party.
