By Amofokhai Williams
The All Progressives Congress (APC) has launched a scathing attack on former Rivers State Governor Rotimi Amaechi over his recent comments about his inability to afford medication for his late mother, Dame Ezinne Mary Oduah Amaechi.
In a statement signed by its National Publicity Secretary, Felix Morka, on Sunday, the APC said it prayed for the repose of Amaechi’s mother and wished the former governor “excellent health of mind and body.”
The party questioned how Amaechi, after decades in public office, could claim he was unable to afford medication for his mother, given his record as a former two-term Speaker of the Rivers State House of Assembly, two-term governor and two-term Minister of Transportation.
Amaechi, who was also a presidential aspirant and is currently the vice-presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), has spoken about his financial difficulties and linked his mother’s death to his inability to afford her medication.
Reacting to the claim, the APC said it hoped employers in Amaechi’s hometown of Ubima in Ikwerre Local Government Area of Rivers State would find him suitable for employment that would enable him to meet his personal and family needs.
The party also referred to previous comments attributed to Amaechi about his financial circumstances, including his claim that he had become so financially constrained that his wife was feeding him.
“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 statement said.
The APC argued that Amaechi had spent four decades occupying senior public positions and questioned his financial circumstances after leaving office.
It accused him of being dependent on public office and described his current financial claims as evidence of what it called a failure to become productive outside government patronage.
The party further criticised Amaechi’s ambition to contest the 2027 presidential election as the ADC’s vice-presidential candidate, alleging that he was seeking a return to public office to maintain what it described as a lifestyle dependent on public resources.
“The presidency is not a soup kitchen and will not be a soup kitchen for Rotimi Amaechi,” the APC said.
The party concluded by arguing that Amaechi’s own statements had raised questions about his suitability for the office he is seeking.
“No one can speak more to Rotimi Amaechi’s unfitness for the office of Vice President than Rotimi Amaechi himself,” the APC said.
