A former Governor of Rivers State, Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi, has exposed Nyesom Wike’s desperation for political power.
Amaechi, also a former Minister of Transportation, said revealed how he appointed Wike, now Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) as his Chief of Staff in order to supervise him closely, but he lobbied to head the State’s finance ministry.
Speaking during an interview on Arise Television’s Prime Time, Amaechi said Wike had lobbied to be appointed Commissioner for Finance, a request he refused to grant.
Amaechi’s revelation was in response to Monday’s media chat by the FCT Minister, where he referred to the former Transportation Minister (Amaechi) as a politician who is hungry for power.
“Now that they are out of power, they say they are hungry. It’s not hunger for food. It’s hunger for power,” Wike had said on Monday.
However, addressing the lingering political rivalry between him and Wike, Amaechi, who was Rivers governor from 2007 to 2015, accused the FCT Minister of self-aggrandisement in his political journey.
He said: “I wanted him (Wike) as Chief of Staff so I could supervise him.
“Mohammed Adoke flew all the way from Abuja to Port Harcourt. That week he asked me to make him commissioner for finance and I said no, he has to work under me. I want him as Chief of Staff so I can supervise him.
“I didn’t offer him commissioner for finance. You see, I’m saying this because I don’t want to join issues with children. I was once his boss. Whether he likes it or not. I hired him. I could have said No.
“You know, he made himself chief of staff. He made himself governor. He made himself minister. He made himself local government chairman,” he disclosed.