Wike condemns Amaechi’s use of mother’s death in Tinubu dispute

Federal Capital Territory Minister Nyesom Wike has criticised former Rivers State governor Rotimi Amaechi for linking his mother’s death to President Bola Tinubu’s economic policies. Wike made the remarks on Saturday while addressing members of the Uzugbani Ekpeye National Executive Council at Ekpeye House in Ahoada, Rivers State. He accused Amaechi of invoking his mother’s death to attract political sympathy.

Amaechi had said during an interview with Channels Television that the rising cost of medicines after 2023 had made it difficult for him to buy drugs for his mother. “Tinubu’s policies killed my mother,” he said, according to the source material, adding that she had been healthy before Tinubu took office. Wike questioned the claim by citing Amaechi’s previous positions as speaker of the Rivers State House of Assembly, governor and Minister of Transportation.

He asked how Amaechi, after holding those offices, could say he was unable to afford his mother’s medication. The minister also questioned why Amaechi’s wife, whom he described as an industrialist, or associates with private jets could not have helped with the medical expenses. He said some of those associates attended the burial after her death.

Wike further objected to Amaechi’s reported statement that his mother would be happy if the ADC won the 2027 election. He said this amounted to bringing a deceased family member into political discourse and urged people to let her rest. Amaechi’s mother, Mary Amaechi, died in July 2026 and was buried in September in Ubima, Rivers State.

The exchange forms part of the continuing political rivalry between Wike and Amaechi, who previously worked together before becoming opponents.