- Ismaeel Aleem
A prominent All Progressives Congress (APC) figure, Chief Chukwuemeka Eze, has issued a blistering rebuttal to Senator Adams Oshiomhole, accusing the former Edo State governor of corruption and hypocrisy following Oshiomhole’s recent televised criticism of ex-Transport Minister, Rt Hon Rotimi Amaechi.
The row erupted after Senator Oshiomhole appeared on Channels Television’s Politics Today and labelled Amaechi “the most terrible” governor Rivers State ever had, alleging that Amaechi shut down the state’s judiciary for nearly two years and mismanaged the nation’s rail modernisation programme during his tenure under the late President Muhammadu Buhari.
Oshiomhole also downplayed Amaechi’s role as Director-General of the APC’s 2015 presidential campaign.
In a strongly worded statement released on Thursday, Chief Eze, a former National Publicity Secretary of the defunct New PDP and member of the APC Legacy Projects Media Team, described Oshiomhole’s remarks as “uncouth and disparaging” and accused the Edo North senator of harbouring “bile” ahead of an anticipated APC electoral defeat under President Bola Tinubu’s leadership.
Eze defended Amaechi’s eight-year governorship (2007–2015) as the most transformative in Rivers State’s history, citing “verifiable records of multi-sectoral developmental strides”.
In stark contrast, he portrayed Oshiomhole’s tenure in Edo State (2008–2016) as marred by “ruthless looting of public funds running into hundreds of billions of naira”.
Eze further accused Oshiomhole of misappropriating local government funds through the Joint State/Local Government Account and converting a state-acquired property into the office of a consultancy firm that oversaw all civil contracts during his administration.
Addressing Oshiomhole’s claim that Amaechi closed the Rivers judiciary, Eze explained that the shutdown occurred when five lawmakers, allegedly backed by the then opposition and now FCT Minister Nyesom Wike, attempted an unconstitutional impeachment of Governor Amaechi an action that required judicial intervention.
Eze reminded readers that Oshiomhole himself became the first national chairman of a ruling party to be removed by his own ward executive, and urged the senator to “bury his ugly head in shame” whenever Amaechi speaks on national issues.
Describing Amaechi as a patriot who “speaks truth to power” because he has “no cockroach hidden in his cupboard”, Eze insisted that the former minister remains focused on national liberation rather than responding to personal attacks.
