Chief Eric Nwibani, a chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC) and the secretary of the party’s caretaker committee in Rivers State, has declared that former Minister of Transportation Rotimi Amaechi has lost over 70 percent of his political followership in the state.
Nwibani highlighted Amaechi’s decline in influence, noting his failures in three election cycles from 2015 to 2023 despite his significant roles as a “super minister” and a two-time Director General of Buhari’s presidential campaigns.
In response to Amaechi’s statement suggesting that those who left him to work with FCT Minister Nyesom Wike did so because they “could not endure hunger,” Nwibani slammed Amaechi’s leadership style and urged him to reflect on why his followers were abandoning him.
“Amaechi has lost over 70 percent of his followership. I’m done working with Amaechi,” Nwibani said, as reported by Vanguard.
He recounted an incident from 2019, stating, “In 2019, during the presidential campaign rally of President Buhari at Adokiye Amiesimaka stadium, 16 Rivers people died due to a stampede. Amaechi visited three families in Obio/Akpo and promised he would do something for the deceased families. He didn’t turn up. That is the kind of leader Amaechi is.”
Nwibani continued, “He carries bitterness over the years. I heard him say he was going to plan to win the next election. How? You were a super minister and couldn’t win the last election. Is it now that you are out of government that you can win an election?”
Defending those who now support Wike, Nwibani stated, “Amaechi cannot say those working with Wike are hungry. I don’t know where he worked before joining politics. We know he made money from government and politics. I know that Victor Giadom is not hungry. I know that Ojukaye Flag Amachree is not, Engr. Sampson Ngerigbari and many others are not hungry people.”
Nwibani also expressed support for Wike, a member of the PDP, who is serving as FCT Minister under President Tinubu. “Yes, Wike is a PDP man. But he is a Rivers son and is doing very well as FCT Minister working in the government of President Tinubu. We need to give him all the support he deserves.”
He concluded by criticizing Amaechi’s continued bitterness after losing the election against President Tinubu in 2023, saying, “He left PDP in 2014 for APC; nobody threw stones at him. Why is he carrying bitterness because he lost the election against President Tinubu in 2023?”
