FCT Minister Nyesom Wike has blasted former Rivers Governor Rotimi Amaechi for claiming to be “hungry” at his 60th birthday, accusing him of being “hungry for power” and trivializing Nigerians’ suffering

[dropcap]T[/dropcap]he Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Minister, Nyesom Wike, has launched a scathing attack on former Rivers State Governor Rotimi Amaechi, firing back at his recent “I’m hungry” comments.

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Speaking on Monday, June 2, 2025, during a media parley monitored by The Nation, Wike vehemently “carpeted” Amaechi, asserting that the latter was merely “hungry for power.”

Amaechi had last week, while commenting on the state of the economy during an event to mark his 60th birthday anniversary, publicly stated: “We’re all hungry, all of us are. If you’re not hungry, I’m. For us, the opposition, if you want us to remove the man in power, we can remove him from this power. In Nigeria, there are no capitalist ideas among the politicians; it’s about sharing.”

Amaechi has a long political career, serving as a two-term governor of Rivers State from 2007 to 2015, after which he was appointed as Minister of Transportation by ex-President Muhammadu Buhari.

He also chaired the Nigerian Governors’ Forum from 2011 to 2015 and was Speaker of the Rivers House of Assembly between 1999 and 2007, serving as the pioneer chairman of Nigeria’s conference of speakers of state assemblies.

Reacting sharply to Amaechi’s remarks, Wike stated: “We’ve time to listen to junks in Nigeria. I don’t know why a man (Amaechi) will choose his 60th birthday to tell lies to Nigerians that you’re hungry.”

Now they are regrouping. They are only hungry for power. It shows failure on his part. How do you trivialise issue of hunger?

Wike then highlighted Amaechi’s extensive political history, questioning his recent claim of hunger. “He was speaker in 1999-2007. He was a governor too from 2007 to 2015. He also became a minister from 2015-2023. He never spoke about hunger,” Wike pointed out.

He continued by accusing Amaechi of trivializing the issue of hunger and seeking power. “Now they are regrouping. They are only hungry for power. It shows failure on his part. How do you trivialise issue of hunger? You joined Atiku and claimed your hungry. It is just that you cannot stay out of power. Since 1999-2023, and Amaechi will stand before Nigerians and claim hunger. He was a former governor. He couldn’t give Buhari common 25% during election. He was even DG of campaign then.”

Wike also used the opportunity to reinforce his political stance, particularly regarding the 2023 elections where he was a key figure in the G-5 governors who refused to support the PDP’s presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar.

“Thank God we didn’t support PDP. He would have taken the glory. He’s in a coalition, I don’t like talking talking. Let them form as a team, let him start from home (Rivers).”

Challenging Amaechi’s assertion about removing the man in power, Wike questioned: “Let see how he can remove the president. Is it a military coup? The term removal is synonymous to dictatorship or military coup. You saw what happened and what Nigerians passed through in 2015, and you’re claiming now that Nigerians are hungry.”

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Concluding his fiery response, Wike declared his value to the current administration: “I’m not a liability, I’m an asset. You may not like me. I’m an asset to ensuring that President Tinubu wins second term.”