A leading member of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Chief Eze Chukwuemeka Eze, has strongly responded to recent comments made by the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, during a televised interview on Channels TV’s Politics Today.
In the interview, Wike claimed he came from a wealthy family and even drove his own car while attending school. He said this in an attempt to set himself apart from his former ally and ex-Rivers State Governor, Chibuike Amaechi, noting they came from different social classes.
Wike also accused Dame Judith Amaechi, wife of the former minister, of receiving N4 million monthly for training women in Rivers State. He further declared that he would resign if the forensic audit of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) failed to implicate her.
In response, Chief Eze—known for being a close associate of Amaechi—dismissed Wike’s remarks as false and misleading. According to Eze, Wike’s narrative about his past is nothing more than a self-created tale meant to mislead the public and hide the reality of his humble background.
“Trying to claim how rich his father was when poverty that radiated his family was as strong as the direct ray of sun, is denying his background,” Eze said in a press statement.
He noted that Wike, who once served as an aide to Amaechi, has turned his back on everyone who helped him rise from what Eze described as “abject poverty.” Eze questioned how Wike rose through political ranks if not through Amaechi’s support. “Was it Wike that made himself a Local Government Chairman, Chief of Staff to Amaechi and later nominated himself as a Minister during the Jonathan regime?” he asked.
Eze also questioned Wike’s integrity and claimed that Wike’s father would be disappointed in him for allegedly rejecting his roots. He further alleged that Wike was once disowned by his father due to issues surrounding his character. “If not for his friend’s father who assisted him by paying his school fees, Nigerians would have been spared of having such a charlatan in public service,” Eze noted.
Speaking about Wike’s comments on Dame Judith Amaechi, Eze suggested the attack was unfair. He also questioned the moral standing of Wike’s wife, who is a judge, given her close relationship with Wike. “One is forced to ask whether Wike’s wife is fit for the exalted position of a Judge… sleeping daily in the same room and on the same bed with a character like Wike will definitely affect her sense of judgement in the delivery of justice,” he added.
Eze expressed regret that Amaechi ever supported Wike politically. He blamed Amaechi for helping Wike rise to political prominence, calling it a costly mistake. “Amaechi made the greatest error in his political journey by encountering Wike and assisting him,” he said.
He further accused Wike of tearing down many of the developmental programs set up by the Amaechi administration in Rivers State. These, according to Eze, included agricultural initiatives, educational reforms, and scholarship schemes aimed at empowering the people of the state. “The agricultural set up that would have taken care of the food challenge currently facing Nigerians was destroyed,” Eze noted. “The educational sector and scholarship set up by Amaechi… was destroyed by Wike.”
