{"id":231882,"date":"2025-07-05T15:07:44","date_gmt":"2025-07-05T15:07:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/abianewscentral.com.ng\/you-dont-know-your-political-direction-wike-hits-back-at-amaechi-channels-television\/"},"modified":"2025-07-05T15:07:44","modified_gmt":"2025-07-05T15:07:44","slug":"you-dont-know-your-political-direction-wike-hits-back-at-amaechi-channels-television","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/abiaradiostations.com.ng\/news\/you-dont-know-your-political-direction-wike-hits-back-at-amaechi-channels-television\/","title":{"rendered":"&#8216;You Don&#8217;t Know Your Political Direction,&#8217; Wike Hits Back At Amaechi \u2022 Channels Television"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>&#8216;You Don&#8217;t Know Your Political Direction,&#8217; Wike Hits Back At Amaechi \u2022 Channels Television<br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p><strong>Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) and former governor of Rivers State, Nyesom Wike, has launched a scathing rebuttal against his predecessor, Rotimi Amaechi, declaring that the ex-transport minister lacks the political direction and integrity required to earn respect or claim any seniority over him.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe [Amaechi] does not even know his left from his right politically. So, how can he claim he made me? It\u2019s unfair,\u201d Wike said during a guest appearance on Channels Television\u2019s <em>Politics Today.<\/em><\/p>\n<p>The FCT minister\u2019s comments came in direct response to Amaechi\u2019s claims on the same programme a day earlier, where the former minister said he did not understand why Wike had shown him disrespect despite being older and having groomed him in politics.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cLet the minister of the FCT come; let\u2019s take a walk from the airport to Port Harcourt \u2014 no police, no army, nothing, just the two of us. I don\u2019t know why he doesn\u2019t respect people like us; I am older. I brought him up in politics. Who is he? He\u2019s not my age, mate,\u201d Amaechi had said.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_924298\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-924298\" style=\"width: 650px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-924298\" src=\"data:image\/svg+xml,%3Csvg%20xmlns=\" http:=\"\" alt=\"\" width=\"650\" height=\"350\" data-lazy-srcset=\"https:\/\/www.channelstv.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/Wike_2.jpg 650w, https:\/\/www.channelstv.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/Wike_2-300x162.jpg 300w\" data-lazy-sizes=\"(max-width: 650px) 100vw, 650px\" data-lazy-src=\"https:\/\/www.channelstv.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/Wike_2.jpg\"\/><noscript><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-924298\" src=\"https:\/\/www.channelstv.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/Wike_2.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"650\" height=\"350\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.channelstv.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/Wike_2.jpg 650w, https:\/\/www.channelstv.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/Wike_2-300x162.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 650px) 100vw, 650px\"\/><\/noscript><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-924298\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">FILE PHOTO: FCT Minister, Nyesom Wike, on Channels Television\u2019s Politics Today on Wednesday, August 30, 2023<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>But Wike fired back, insisting that respect is not a product of age or position but of character.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cFirst of all, respect should not come because you\u2019re older or because you were once governor. Respect should come from integrity and honour. You shouldn\u2019t be respected just because you are 200 years old,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<p><noscript><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Respect Is By Integrity, Honour Not Age, Wike Replies Amaechi\" width=\"740\" height=\"416\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/zvVipOOk7YI?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><span data-mce-type=\"bookmark\" style=\"display: inline-block; width: 0px; overflow: hidden; line-height: 0;\" class=\"mce_SELRES_start\">\ufeff<\/span><\/iframe><\/noscript><\/p>\n<p>The former Rivers Governor dismissed the notion that Amaechi had played any pivotal role in his political rise, instead positioning himself as an early player in Rivers politics.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe cannot claim to be my senior politically. I contested the chairmanship of one of the most important local governments in this country \u2013 Obio-Akpor \u2013 in 1998, and I won.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><strong>READ ALSO:<\/strong> [UPDATED] I don\u2019t Know Why Wike Doesn\u2019t Respect Me \u2014 Amaechi<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_939128\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-939128\" style=\"width: 650px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-939128\" src=\"data:image\/svg+xml,%3Csvg%20xmlns=\" http:=\"\" alt=\"\" width=\"650\" height=\"360\" data-lazy-srcset=\"https:\/\/www.channelstv.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/Rotimi-Amaechi-1.png 650w, https:\/\/www.channelstv.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/Rotimi-Amaechi-1-300x166.png 300w\" data-lazy-sizes=\"(max-width: 650px) 100vw, 650px\" data-lazy-src=\"https:\/\/www.channelstv.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/Rotimi-Amaechi-1.png\"\/><noscript><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-939128\" src=\"https:\/\/www.channelstv.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/Rotimi-Amaechi-1.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"650\" height=\"360\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.channelstv.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/Rotimi-Amaechi-1.png 650w, https:\/\/www.channelstv.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/Rotimi-Amaechi-1-300x166.png 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 650px) 100vw, 650px\"\/><\/noscript><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-939128\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Rotimi Amaechi<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Wike further recalled a time when Amaechi was \u201cstruggling\u201d to gain political relevance and needed assistance to be appointed as a lawyer to the Rivers State Government.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhen he was struggling, I was already building a structure. He wanted someone to help him be appointed a lawyer. I walked him through. The man he wrote to was loyal to me,\u201d he claimed.<\/p>\n<p>The FCT Minister also criticised Amaechi for repeatedly referring to his past roles, saying it does not guarantee current political relevance.<\/p>\n<p>On the issue of corruption, Wike questioned Amaechi\u2019s claim of not being interested in money.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_661918\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-661918\" style=\"width: 650px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-661918\" src=\"https:\/\/www.channelstv.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/Amaechi-Wike.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"650\" height=\"350\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.channelstv.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/Amaechi-Wike.jpg 650w, https:\/\/www.channelstv.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/Amaechi-Wike-300x162.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 650px) 100vw, 650px\"\/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-661918\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">A combination of file photos of Mr Rotimi Amaechi and Mr Nyesom Wike<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>\u201cGod gives power to whomever He chooses at the right time. What matters is how you use that power to uplift others, not how many years you\u2019ve been around.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhen a man comes in public to say, \u2018I don\u2019t like money,\u2019 you know that man is a big liar. Amaechi was Speaker for eight years, Governor for eight years, and Minister for eight years. Nigerians should know the kind of characters deceiving them daily,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<p>The exchange comes as both men remain key players in Nigeria\u2019s shifting political landscape ahead of the 2027 general elections.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_938719\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-938719\" style=\"width: 650px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-938719\" src=\"https:\/\/www.channelstv.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/opposition-coalition.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"650\" height=\"350\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.channelstv.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/opposition-coalition.jpg 650w, https:\/\/www.channelstv.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/opposition-coalition-300x162.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 650px) 100vw, 650px\"\/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-938719\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">The coalition has several top politicians as members. X@ADCNig.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Amaechi, now a leading figure in a newly formed political coalition under the African Democratic Congress (ADC), recently affirmed his commitment to power rotation, stating that he would only serve a single term if elected president.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIf I won\u2019t do more than four years, I would say that. If I were to do more than four years, I would say I would do more than four,\u201d Amaechi said on the show.<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"&#039;I Will Only Do One Term&#039;, Amaechi Assures Nigerians\" width=\"740\" height=\"416\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/crH9-DYPzeY?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><span data-mce-type=\"bookmark\" style=\"display: inline-block; width: 0px; overflow: hidden; line-height: 0;\" class=\"mce_SELRES_start\">\ufeff<\/span><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>The ADC-led coalition also includes political bigwigs such as former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, 2023 Labour Party presidential candidate Peter Obi, ex-Kaduna governor Nasir El-Rufai, and former Osun governor Rauf Aregbesola.<\/p>\n<p>Wike and Amaechi\u2019s rivalry dates back to their years in Rivers politics. Though Wike once served as Chief of Staff under Amaechi\u2019s administration and was considered his political prot\u00e9g\u00e9, the two fell out before the 2015 elections in a battle for control of the state\u2019s political machinery. The public feud is\u00a0the most recent development in their long-standing political rivalry.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p>Amaechi,wike<br \/>\n<br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/www.channelstv.com\/2025\/07\/05\/you-dont-know-your-political-direction-wike-hits-back-at-amaechi\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Source<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>&#8216;You Don&#8217;t Know Your Political Direction,&#8217; Wike Hits Back At Amaechi \u2022 Channels Television \u00a0 Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) and former governor of Rivers State, Nyesom Wike, has launched a scathing rebuttal against his predecessor, Rotimi Amaechi, declaring that the ex-transport minister lacks the political direction and integrity required to earn respect [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":229761,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[173],"tags":[266,314],"class_list":["post-231882","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","tag-amaechi","tag-wike"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"amp_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/abiaradiostations.com.ng\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/231882","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/abiaradiostations.com.ng\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/abiaradiostations.com.ng\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/abiaradiostations.com.ng\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/abiaradiostations.com.ng\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=231882"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/abiaradiostations.com.ng\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/231882\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/abiaradiostations.com.ng\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=231882"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/abiaradiostations.com.ng\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=231882"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/abiaradiostations.com.ng\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=231882"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}