The Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, has accused former Rivers State Governor, Rotimi Amaechi, of causing a pregnant woman to give birth in prison during his tenure as governor.
Wike made the allegation on Wednesday during his monthly media parley with selected journalists.
Amaechi, who served as Rivers State governor from 2007 to 2015, is currently the vice presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress (ADC) ahead of the 2027 general elections.
According to Wike, Amaechi’s administration shut down the judiciary in Rivers State, a situation he alleged resulted in a pregnant woman remaining in prison until she gave birth.
The FCT minister made the allegation while criticising the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) for providing Amaechi with a platform to speak during its recently concluded annual conference in Port Harcourt.
“Rotimi Amaechi, who wants to be vice president today, once shut down the court in Rivers State and made a pregnant woman to give birth in the prison,” Wike alleged.
Wike questioned the decision to provide Amaechi with a platform at a gathering of legal practitioners, arguing that individuals who had previously interfered with the judiciary should not be given an avenue to justify such actions.
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He said the same standard should apply to him if, as FCT minister, he attempted to interfere with the courts in the nation’s capital.
“If I’m sitting today as minister of the FCT, who is seen as governor of the FCT, and I call for court to shut down, you should not give me a platform to defend that,” Wike said.
The minister’s remarks come amid an increasingly heated political atmosphere ahead of the 2027 general elections, with Wike and Amaechi occupying opposing political camps.
Amaechi is part of the ADC coalition seeking to challenge the ruling APC in the 2027 elections, while Wike, despite remaining a member of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), serves in President Bola Tinubu’s administration as FCT minister.
The latest exchange further highlights the political rivalry between the two former Rivers State governors, whose disagreements have remained a major feature of the state’s political landscape.