Has Amaechi’s Political Career Really Come To An End?

Rotimi Amaechi, the immediate past Minister of Transportation is one of the few politicians that has had a rollercoaster ride through the Fourth Republic but with recent political developments questions as to whether he has come to the end of the road are now emerging.

Having served as Speaker of Rivers State House of Assembly for eight years, governor of Rivers State for two terms and Minister of Transportation for seven years, Amaechi is considered as one of the luckiest politicians in Nigeria.

But it appears the Ubima born politician has gotten to the zenith of his political career and may soon be out of the political limelight given developments in his political base.

Indications of trouble for Amaechi’s political career has been signposted by the spate of defections by his loyalists in his troubled house.

Among others who have also dumped Amaechi are Chris Finebone, his erstwhile spokesman, and most recently, the erstwhile Deputy National Chairman of the Party, South Sam-Sam Jaja.

The defection of Sam-Sam Jaja was particularly instructive. Before he defected to the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, Sam-Sam Jaja was chairman of the in-house committee designated by Amaechi to reconcile those among his camp who were aggrieved with one matter or the other.

Shadowing the spate of defections is the double losses he suffered after losing out from the federal cabinet and also losing the party’s presidential ticket.

He did not only fail to get the ticket, he lost his juicy ministerial portfolio which was given to him by virtue of his huge political and other investments in the Muhammadu Buhari presidential ambition in 2015 and 2019.

Amaechi resigned his appointment as minister of transportation in the hope that President Buhari, who was said to have given him the assurance of handing over power to him, lost control of the activities that gave rise to the emergence of Bola Ahmed Tinubu as the party’s candidate.

When in February 2023, he was turbaned in Daura, he was sure that arrangements were concluded for his elevation to another level, politically.

As minister, Amaechi gifted Daura a brand new Federal University of Transportation, a Premier Varsity on rail transportation. Political pundits believe Amaechi’s journey to political oblivion could be traced to his one man show style of leadership that he exhibited in handling the affairs of Rivers State chapter of APC.

The attitude GWG gathered was responsible for the exit of some of his loyalists to other political parties ahead of the 2023 general election. 

His nomination of Udi Odum as minister designate from Rivers State ahead of his seniors in the party who made more sacrifice for the party was the last straw that broke the camel’s back.   

Some of Amaechi’s loyalists who have left the APC for other parties include his former commissioner of Energy and Natural Resources, Dawari George, former Commissioner for Transport, George Fubara Tolofari, and one time Secretary to Rivers State Government under Amaechi, Senator Magnus Abe. 

Abe, who controlled a faction of the party in the state a few months ago decided to dump the party to actualize his political dream of contesting the 2023 governorship election in the state.   

Before  dumping the party , Abe who was Amaechi’s ally from the  time of their membership of Rivers State House of Assembly, accused him of  being undemocratic  in running the affairs of the party in the state.  

Though, hope seems deem for the former governor of Rivers State to politically bounce back, politics is not like mathematics where two plus two equals four.  How Amaechi would wriggle out of the present political confusion is left to be seen or whether it is really the end.

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