Rotimi Amaechi, a former governor of Rivers State, once claimed he was an Igbo man during a political rally. Now, he says that was not true.
During a campaign for the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Aba back in 2015, Amaechi told a cheering crowd that he was a proud Igbo man. He even said that although former President Goodluck Jonathan used an Igbo name, Jonathan could not speak the Igbo language—unlike him.
But recently, in a TV interview with Arise News, Amaechi took back those words. He said he is not Igbo but from the Ikwerre ethnic group in Rivers State.
Amaechi explained that he only said he was Igbo back then so Nigerians would take the Southeast’s issues more seriously. He wanted people to focus on the complaints about how the region was being treated unfairly.
His new statement has caused a strong reaction from the Ohanaeze Ndigbo Youth Council Worldwide. The group’s national president, Okwu Nnabuike, released a statement accusing Amaechi of being dishonest.
Okwu said that Amaechi’s actions show he is just like many Nigerian politicians who lack truthfulness and character. He believes leaders like Amaechi only say what suits their political goals without caring about the truth.
He said, “We were shocked to the marrow to listen to Rotimi Amaechi make such a U-turn on national television.
“This is the same man who accused former President Goodluck Jonathan of not being an Igbo man, simply because he (Amaechi) needed the votes of Ndigbo for his party, the APC, in 2015.
“Fast forward to 2025, the same man, 10 years later, has now told Nigerians that he lied to them.
“What this clearly shows is that Amaechi is a man who can do anything for politics; who can say anything just to get what he wants politically.
“How can we explain the fact that someone who personally declared that he is an Igbo man 10 years ago, now shamelessly tells the whole world that he did that all for politics.
“What this clearly shows is that he is in the league of politicians who have no character, who believe that all is fair in politics.
“Particularly, we advise Mr Peter Obi to be wary of such a man. He should not be seen to be associating with a man who is making a caricature of Ndigbo.
“Such a person is not to be trusted and we now see why Nyesom Wike clearly said that Amaechi has no capacity.
“How can such a man have capacity when he is living a life of treachery, when he is telling lies to get what he wants.
“However we want to make it clear to Amaechi and his likes that Ndigbo are not looking for people like him. We know genuine Igbo men and women when we see them, and we have a handful of them.
“We are waiting for Amaechi in 2027 when he will come to any state in the South-East to open his lies-filled mouth. He will hear from us at the appropriate time, because we know he shall surely need Ndigbo again. We have had enough from people like him and we say never again.”
