Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, has launched a sharp attack on former Minister of Transportation and African Democratic Congress (ADC) chieftain, Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi, declaring that individuals he described as “bloody thieves” and “lunatics” would never be allowed to become president of Nigeria.
Speaking to journalists after a meeting with FCT Area Council chairmen in Abuja, Wike responded to comments reportedly made by Amaechi in Edo State. Amaechi had stated that “only thieves and mad people” would vote for President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and added that “a lunatic cannot preside over Nigeria.”
Wike questioned Amaechi’s own mental stability and accused him of hypocrisy.
“He said those who want to vote for Tinubu are thieves. So, I’m a thief? That’s what he’s saying. But who can be a bigger thief than Amaechi? Ask him who has been his psychiatric doctor,” the FCT Minister said.
He further claimed that a politician with Amaechi’s record had no moral authority to lecture Nigerians or seek the highest office. Wike challenged the media and the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to hold Amaechi accountable for what he described as multi-million-dollar projects left unaccounted for during Amaechi’s tenure as Governor of Rivers State. Among the projects he listed were:
• A $39 million Justice Karibi-Whyte Hospital that was fully paid for but never built.
• A $10 million fumigation contract awarded to a Cuban firm, which Wike dismissed as a waste.
• A ₦68 billion monorail project in Port Harcourt that was abandoned.
• Proceeds from the $308 million sale of state power assets (gas turbines), which he alleged were looted.
Wike also referenced a Judicial Panel of Inquiry that he said had indicted Amaechi, with the appeal process ending at the Supreme Court.
Warning of consequences if the rhetoric continued, Wike stated: “If he continues along this line, it will be difficult for him to campaign in Rivers State. We will make it difficult for him. You cannot sit down, call voters madmen and thieves, and expect to walk away free.”
Separately, the Minister addressed the indefinite strike declared by the FCT chapter of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC). He described the action as purely political and without basis, insisting that the FCT Administration had no unresolved dispute with teachers.
“This so-called strike declaration is political and we will not accept it. There’s no basis for anybody to call for a strike. All the things they are talking about have been agreed and are being implemented,” Wike said.
He noted that the Trade Union Congress (TUC) and the Academic Staff Union of Secondary Schools (ASUSS) had disowned the strike. Wike directed Area Councils to recall their teachers and civil servants, warning that a “no work, no pay” policy would be enforced. He further alleged that the FCT NLC chairman, a former Area Council aspirant on the ADC platform, was seeking to create crisis in the territory for political reasons.