| Accuses ex-Rivers governor of mismanaging projects, describes FCT NLC strike as political

Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, has launched a blistering attack on former Rivers State Governor and ex-Minister of Transportation, Rotimi Amaechi, declaring that politicians he described as “bloody thieves” and “lunatics” would never become president of Nigeria.

Wike spoke with journalists in Abuja after a brief meeting with FCT area council chairmen, reacting to reports that Amaechi had described those planning to vote for President Bola Tinubu in the 2027 general election as “thieves and mad people.”

The minister questioned Amaechi’s mental stability and accused him of hypocrisy, insisting that someone who allegedly made such remarks about voters lacked the moral standing to aspire to the presidency.

“A lunatic cannot preside over the affairs of this country! A known armed robber cannot!” Wike declared.

“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 minister added.

Wike also warned that Amaechi could face resistance if he attempted to campaign in Rivers State while continuing to insult supporters of Tinubu.

“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,” he said.

The FCT minister challenged journalists to question Amaechi over projects and public funds from his eight-year tenure as governor of Rivers State, alleging that several projects and transactions were either abandoned or inadequately accounted for.

Among the issues he raised was the alleged $39 million payment for the Justice Karibi-Whyte Hospital, which he claimed was never built.

He also cited a $10 million fumigation contract awarded to a Cuban firm to combat mosquitoes, describing it as a waste of public funds.

Wike further criticised the N68 billion monorail project in Port Harcourt, which he said was abandoned, and questioned the handling of $308 million in proceeds from the sale of state-owned gas turbine assets.

The minister also alleged that Amaechi had been indicted by a judicial panel of inquiry and subsequently lost an appeal at the Supreme Court.

“This is a known thief who was indicted by a Judicial Panel of Inquiry and lost his appeal all the way to the Supreme Court.

“Yet the media allows such a character to go on television and call the President and voters thieves,” Wike said.

The allegations against Amaechi were made by Wike, and the claims were not independently established in the account of his remarks.

Wike declares FCT NLC strike political

The minister also condemned the indefinite strike declared by the FCT chapter of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), describing the action as politically motivated and insisting that there was no justification for the industrial action.

Wike maintained that the FCT Administration had no unresolved dispute with teachers, adding that issues raised by the unions had already been agreed upon and were being addressed.

“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,” he said.

He claimed that the Trade Union Congress (TUC) and the Academic Staff Union of Secondary School (ASUSS) had distanced themselves from the strike.

Wike directed area council chairmen to ensure that teachers and other civil servants returned to work, warning that the FCT Administration would enforce the no-work-no-pay policy against workers who participated in the industrial action.

The minister also alleged that the FCT NLC chairman, whom he claimed had previously sought an area council position on the platform of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), was attempting to create a crisis in the territory for political reasons.

The NLC’s position and the allegations surrounding the strike could not be independently verified from Wike’s remarks alone.