Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi (born 27 May 1965) is a

Nigerian Nigerians or the Nigerian people are citizens of Nigeria or people with ancestry from Nigeria. The name Nigeria was taken from the Niger River running through the country. This name was allegedly coined in the late 19th century by British jour ...

politician A politician is a person active in party politics, or a person holding or seeking an elected office in government. Politicians propose, support, reject and create laws that govern the land and by an extension of its people. Broadly speaking ...

, he served as the Federal Minister of Transportation of Nigeria from 2015 to 2022 under the cabinet of President

Muhammadu Buhari Muhammadu Buhari (born 17 December 1942) is a Nigerian politician and current president of Nigeria since 2015. Buhari is a retired Nigerian Army major general who served as the country's military head of state from 31 December 1983 to 27 A ...

. He resigned to contest for Nigeria's presidency under the ruling All Progressive Congress (APC). He previously served in oil-rich

Rivers State Rivers State, also known as Rivers, is a state in the Niger Delta region of southern Nigeria (Old Eastern Region). Formed in 1967, when it was split from the former Eastern Region, Rivers State borders include: Imo to the north, Abia and Akwa ...

Governor of Rivers State The Governor of Rivers State is the chief executive of the Rivers State government and is one of the governors of the thirty-six states of Nigeria. The governor is supported by the Deputy Governor, both popularly elected for a term of four yea ...

from 2007 to 2015 and

Speaker of the Rivers State House of Assembly The Speaker of the Rivers State House of Assembly is the political head of the legislative body in Rivers State, Nigeria. Elected by the Members of the House, the speaker's primary responsibility is to preside over the sitting and deliberations o ...

from 1999 to 2007. On 9 April 2022, Amaechi declared his interest to contest in the Presidential election in 2023, he came second in the APC presidential primaries held in June 2022 behind

Bola Tinubu Bola Ahmed Adekunle Tinubu (born 29 March 1952) is a Nigerian accountant and politician who served as the Governor of Lagos State from 1999 to 2007 and Senator for Lagos West during the brief Third Republic. In June 2022, he was chosen as th ...

with 316 votes from the delegates.

Background

Amaechi was born in Ubima, Ikwerre Local Government Area of Rivers State to the family of the late Elder Fidelis Amaechi and Mary Amaechi. His first and last names are Ikwerre meaning “God is strength or power” and “who knows tomorrow” respectively. He was raised in Diobu, a densely populated neighbourhood in Port Harcourt. He had his early education at St Theresa's Primary School from 1970 to 1976. He earned his West African Senior School Certificate in 1982 after attending Government Secondary School Okolobiri. Amaechi received a

Bachelor of Arts Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four year ...

degree (Honours) in English Studies and

Literature Literature is any collection of written work, but it is also used more narrowly for writings specifically considered to be an art form, especially prose fiction, drama, and poetry. In recent centuries, the definition has expanded to include ...

from the

University of Port Harcourt The University of Port Harcourt is located in Choba in Port Harcourt, Rivers state, Nigeria. It was established in 1975 as University College, Port Harcourt and was given university status in 1977. The University of Port Harcourt was rank ...

in 1987, where he was the President of the National Union of Rivers State Students (NURSS). He completed the mandatory

National Youth Service Corps The National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) is a program set up by the Nigerian government during the military regime to involve Nigerian graduates in nation-building and the development of the country. There is no military conscription in Nigeria, ...

in 1988, and thereafter joined Pamo Clinics and Hospitals Limited owned by Peter Odili, where he worked until 1992. He also a director of several companies, including West Africa Glass Industry Limited and Risonpalm Nigeria Limited. On November 19th 2022, Amaechi announced on his Twitter handle that he is a certified graduate of Law alongside pictures of his convocation.

Early political career

During the transition to the

Third Nigerian Republic The Third Republic was the planned republican government of Nigeria in 1993 which was to be governed by the Third Republican constitution. Founded (1993) The constitution of the Third Republic was drafted in 1989. General Ibrahim Badamasi ...

, Amaechi was Secretary of the National Republican Convention in Ikwerre Local Government Area of Rivers State. Between 1992 and 1994, he was Special Assistant to the Deputy Governor of Rivers State, Peter Odili – his boss believed in Amaechi as a young man with potential in politics, and brought him under his wing. In 1996, he was the Rivers State's Secretary of the

Democratic Party of Nigeria The Peoples Democratic Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in Nigeria, along with its main rival, the All Progressives Congress. Its policies generally lie towards the centre-right of the political spectrum. It won e ...

(DPN) caretaker committee during the transition programme of General

Sani Abacha Sani Abacha (20 September 1943 – 8 June 1998) was a Nigerian military officer and politician who ruled as the military head of state of Nigeria from 1993 until his death in 1998. He seized power on 17 November 1993 in the last successful c ...

Rivers State House of Assembly (1999–2007)

In 1999, he contested and won a seat to become a member of the

Rivers State House of Assembly Rivers State House of Assembly is the legislative branch of the Government of Rivers State inaugurated in 1979. It is a unicameral body with 32 members elected into 32 state constituencies. The current Speaker Speaker may refer to: Society and ...

to represent his constituency. He was subsequently elected as the Speaker of the House of Assembly. Amaechi was elected the Chairman of Nigeria's Conference of Speakers of State Assemblies. In May 2003, he was re-elected as the Speaker. In 2003, when the

National Assembly In politics, a national assembly is either a unicameral legislature, the lower house of a bicameral legislature, or both houses of a bicameral legislature together. In the English language it generally means "an assembly composed of the rep ...

moved to hijack the legislative functions of the State House of Assembly as enshrined in the constitution, he and his colleagues took the matter to Supreme Court. As speaker, Amaechi used his close working relationship with Governor Peter Odili to increase the harmonious relationship between the Executive and Legislative arms of government in Rivers State, until when Rotimi Amaechi launched a campaign against the State Government, and verbally attacked the image of the State Governor, in an effort to succeed Peter Odili as governor in 2007.

Governor of Rivers State

In 2007, Amaechi contested and won the People's Democratic Party (PDP) primary for Rivers State Governor in 2007. His name was substituted by the party, an action which he challenged in court. The case eventually got to the Supreme Court. He became governor on 26 October 2007, after the Supreme Court ruled that he was the rightful candidate of the PDP and winner of the April 2007 Governorship election in Rivers State. His administration invested in infrastructure development, construction of roads and bridges, sticking to the vision of connecting all parts of the state by road. The governor was also committed to urban renewal and modernization of transportation services. His administration began building a monorail to provide mass transportation within the city of Port Harcourt. Some power plant projects (Afam, Trans Amadi, Onne) were also built to improve power supply in the State. He was re-elected for a second term on 26 April 2011. In August 2013, Amaechi was amongst seven serving governors who formed the G-7 faction within the PDP. In November 2013, Amaechi alongside five members of the G-7 defected to the new opposition party the All Progressives Congress (APC) and became director general of Muhammadu Buhari's presidential campaign.

Minister of Transportation

In 2015, following Muhammadu Buhari's election, Amaechi was appointed to his cabinet as Federal Minister of Transportation. In July 2019, he was re-nominated for ministerial appointment by President Buhari. Amaechi was asked to take a bow and go during his screening by the Senate.

Corruption allegations

Since leaving office in 2015, Amaechi has been the subject of corruption allegations by his successor Governor Ezenwo Wike. Wike accused him of using state funds to finance President

's campaign during the 2015 presidential election through the sale of Rivers state-owned oil and gas assets, and fraudulently misappropriating the proceeds of the sale amounting to US$309 million. Amaechi has persistently denied the allegations against him. In 2018, he acknowledged that despite Buhari's anti-corruption war corruption exists within the administration.

Controversy over Fraud again in 2022

Supreme Court of Nigeria in May, 2022 granted the Rivers State panel of enquiry to probe the Amaechi over an alleged of N96 billion fraud.

Personal life

He is married to Judith Amaechi and they have three boys. He is a Catholic and a Knight of the order of Saint John (KSJ). On 27 May 2021, The Nigerian honorable Minister of transportation, Rt. Hon. Rotimi Amaechi, turned singer and released his debut single titled 'Blessed The People The Lord Has Chosen As His Heritage' in collaboration with his wife, Judith in commemoration of his 56th birthday.

Awards

Amaechi holds the national honour of the Commander of the Order of the Niger (CON).

References

External links

Profile of Rt. Hon. Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi
Governor of Rivers State.
Who's Who: Governor Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi
''Africa Confidential'' * {{DEFAULTSORT:Amaechi, Rotimi Living people 1965 births Governors of Rivers State People from Ikwerre (local government area) Rivers State Peoples Democratic Party politicians University of Port Harcourt alumni People from Diobu, Port Harcourt All Progressives Congress politicians Peoples Democratic Party state governors of Nigeria Speakers of the Rivers State House of Assembly Ikwerre people Nigerian Roman Catholics Government ministers of Nigeria Commanders of the Order of the Niger