The Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, has taken a swipe at former Minister of Transportation, Rotimi Amaechi, over his recent remark about hunger in Nigeria, describing it as politically motivated.
Speaking during a media parley in Abuja on Monday, Wike dismissed Amaechi’s claim of being hungry, stating that the former Rivers State governor is only hungry for power.
Amaechi, while speaking at an event to mark his 60th birthday last week, had said, “We’re all hungry, all of us are. If you’re not hungry, I am. For us, the opposition, if you want us to remove the man in power, we can remove him from this power.”
He also criticised the political class, saying, “In Nigeria, there are no capitalist ideas among the politicians; it’s about sharing.”
In his response, Wike said, “We have no time to listen to nonsense in Nigeria. I don’t understand why a man like Amaechi would choose his 60th birthday to lie to Nigerians about being hungry.”
He recalled Amaechi’s long political career, noting that he served as Speaker of the Rivers State House of Assembly from 1999 to 2007, Governor from 2007 to 2015, and Minister from 2015 to 2023, without previously raising concerns about hunger.
“Now they are regrouping. They are only hungry for power. This shows his failure. How can you trivialise the issue of hunger?” Wike said.
The FCT Minister further accused Amaechi of joining forces with opposition leader Atiku Abubakar to criticise the government, despite his own record during previous administrations.
He added, “He was a former governor who couldn’t deliver even 25 percent for Buhari during elections, despite being the campaign DG. Thank God we did not support the PDP; otherwise, he would have taken the glory.”
Wike questioned the implication of Amaechi’s call for removing the current administration, saying, “Let’s see how he plans to remove the president. Is it a military coup? The term ‘removal’ is synonymous with dictatorship.”
Reaffirming his support for President Bola Tinubu, Wike said, “I am not a liability; I am an asset. You may dislike me, but I am an asset in ensuring President Tinubu wins a second term.”
