The All Progressives Congress (APC) and Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, have challenged Rotimi Amaechi’s claim that the rising cost of medication under President Bola Tinubu’s administration made it difficult for him to treat his late mother.
Amaechi, the African Democratic Congress (ADC) vice-presidential candidate for the 2027 election, had alleged during a Channels Television interview that Tinubu’s economic policies contributed to his mother’s death by making her medication unaffordable.
“Before Tinubu came, my mother was healthy. After 2023, it was difficult for me to buy drugs for my mother,” he said.
The former Rivers State governor also argued that the hardship caused by the government’s economic reforms was affecting many Nigerian families.
His comments have triggered a political backlash, with Wike accusing him of bringing his mother’s death into political arguments.
Speaking in Rivers State on Saturday, Wike questioned how Amaechi could have struggled to pay for his mother’s medication after serving as Speaker of the Rivers State House of Assembly, governor and Minister of Transportation.
“You are telling the whole world that because of the policy of Tinubu, you couldn’t buy drugs for your mother, and so your mother died,” Wike said.
The APC also attacked Amaechi in a statement issued on Sunday by its National Publicity Secretary, Felix Morka, accusing the former governor of portraying himself as financially dependent on public office.
The party said Amaechi had spent decades in prominent public positions before becoming vice-presidential candidate of the ADC.
The APC described his remarks as evidence, in its view, that he was seeking political office partly because of his alleged dependence on public resources.
It said, “For four decades, Rotimi Amaechi freeloaded at the highest levels of public office. He was never hungry and could afford medications for himself and his family. Just three years out of office, he has become destitute, unable to fend for himself and his loved ones. If Amaechi is not struggling with some kind of Peter Pan syndrome, then he must be a loafer, aimless and irresponsible for his inability to be productive and earn a living outside the patronage of public office.
“The same Rotimi Amaechi now asks Nigerians to make him vice president come 2027 so he can continue… and keep the predatory lifestyle he has grown accustomed to.
“The presidency is not a soup kitchen and will not be a soup kitchen for Rotimi Amaechi.”
It also mocked Amaechi over his account of his financial difficulties, saying he should seek employment if he was unable to meet his personal expenses outside government.
The party said, “It is our sincere wish that employers of labour in his hometown of Ubima in Ikwerre Local Government Area of Rivers State may find him suitable for a job that pays wages sufficient for him to feed and buy medications for himself and his beloved family for the rest of his retirement. Amen.
“Rotimi Amaechi’s uncanny confessions must not be missed. First, he howled that he had become so broke and hungry that his wife was now feeding him. Now, he has stated that his inability to afford medications killed his mother at 89.”
The party further cited Amaechi’s earlier remarks about hardship and his claim that his wife had been helping to support him, arguing that the statements raised questions about his financial circumstances after leaving office.
Wike, who has a long-running political history with Amaechi in Rivers State, also questioned why the former governor did not seek assistance from friends and associates if he was unable to meet the cost of his mother’s treatment.
Amaechi’s comments were made while criticising the Tinubu administration’s economic policies, including the removal of the petrol subsidy and the rising cost of living.
He questioned the benefits Nigerians had received from savings associated with the subsidy removal, saying the reforms were supposed to improve living conditions.
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