Chibuike Amaechi, the former Governor of Rivers State and ex-Minister of Transportation, has shared a touching story about his tough childhood.

In a recent interview with Daily Sun, Amaechi said that growing up on the streets of Port Harcourt was very hard. His family was so poor that they often didn’t have enough food to eat.

He revealed that he wore the same shirt and trousers for almost four years because they couldn’t afford new clothes.

Amaechi, who also served as the Speaker of the Rivers State House of Assembly for two terms, said he wanted people to understand the kind of hardship he went through before becoming a well-known politician.

He said, “I grew up in Port Harcourt. Poverty was everywhere, we couldn’t feed, you can hardly eat three times a day, and you can hardly change your cloths.

“In fact, when I tell people that I wore a shirt and a trouser for nearly four years, most people don’t believe it, but my classmates will tell you.

“We are going for a reunion in Umuahia and I usually yab my classmates when we meet at reunions. I would say you see, one of you could have been Mrs Amaechi now, maybe if you had agreed by the time we were in school.

“But because we were very poor, we didn’t have money to feed, we didn’t have cloths to wear, you people didn’t give us attention.

“You people didn’t think we have bright future. But one thing you don’t know about men is that they fight to be relevant. So, for me, I am as simple as life can give.”

He also reminded the public that he was once the Chairman of the Nigerian Governors’ Forum for eight years and finished second in the All Progressives Congress (APC) presidential primary before the 2023 general elections.