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My Loyalty Lies With Jonathan Not Amaechi – Wike

The Supervising Minister of Education, Mr Nyisom Wike, has confirmed that his loyalty does not lie with the Rivers State governor, Rotimi Amaechi, but to … Continue reading My Loyalty Lies With Jonathan Not Amaechi – Wike


The Supervising Minister of Education, Mr Nyisom Wike, has confirmed that his loyalty does not lie with the Rivers State governor, Rotimi Amaechi, but to the constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and President Goodluck Jonathan.

“First of all I owe loyalty to the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, I owe loyalty to the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, who appointed me” Mr Wike said while speaking on Channels Television’s flagship breakfast programme, Sunrise Daily on Monday.

He noted that his loyalty further lies with the people of the state, whom he said were “certainly not” going to where the governor wants to go. “The governor only nominate me for the position of minister of State,” he insisted.

He argued that the president sent his name to the senate after which the “appointment came in”, adding that he stood out and worked tirelessly for him (Amaechi) to become governor.

Wike berated Governor Amaechi’s claim that he was made governor by “God”, saying that Amaechi will claim that he made him minister. “So it is not God that made us,” he said.

Responding to a question from a viewer via a social media channel, twitter, Wike maintained that his “political history was not connected to Amaechi. “I was a chairman of a local government (Obiakpor) when Amaechi was speaker,” he said, adding that he had never worked with him politically.

“We just met at PDP, I was chairman of the council and you can’t say that my political history is connected to him; it is not correct,” Mr Wike said.

He also urged Nigerians to forget about the creation of Bayelsa out of Rivers state, explaining that “if Jonathan is running for election today; Jonathan is from Rivers state.” 

The Supervising Minister of Education, however, admitted that the sentiment expressed would always be there.

He expressed optimism that the people of Rivers state would vote for “their son (Jonathan)” because “it will take you millions of years to convince them on why they should not vote for their son”.

Mr Wike further maintained that since the creation of Rivers in 1967, the state had been involved in mainstream politics in Nigeria.