The exchange, which also drew in Peter Obi, turned the NBA’s 66th conference in Port Harcourt into a heated preview of 2027 campaign battle lines.
Rotimi Amaechi, former governor of Rivers State and vice-presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), clashed with Omoyele Sowore, presidential candidate of the African Action Congress (AAC), during the 66th Annual General Conference of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, on Monday.
Amaechi was representing former Vice President Atiku Abubakar at the session.
The exchange formed part of a wider, heated debate during the conference’s presidential aspirants’ panel, themed “Beyond Limits,” which also drew in NDC presidential candidate Peter Obi, over Nigeria’s fuel subsidy, transportation policy, security and broader governance record.
Sowore’s broadside against establishment politicians
Addressing the audience, Sowore launched a direct attack on politicians who had previously held office, urging voters to reject their renewed promises.
“Please, please, don’t let these politicians lie to you,” he said.
Referencing an earlier remark he attributed to Amaechi,
Sowore said: “I loved one thing that Amaechi said. He said, apart from Sowore and Adebayo, the rest of us that have been in government have failed. They have no business coming back.”
Amaechi immediately disputed this characterisation, cutting in with, “Stop lying, Sowore. I said, judge us by our achievements.”
Sowore pressed on, turning to Amaechi’s record as Rivers governor and later Minister of Transportation.
“When it comes to subsidy, transportation policy is important. We have a former governor of Rivers state here, Amaechi, who built a rail line that went nowhere. If that rail line was working, subsidy would have been working for Rivers people,” he said, adding that governors, not the poor, had been the main beneficiaries of subsidy-linked resources historically.
He also cited a 13-month strike by lecturers and doctors during Amaechi’s governorship as evidence of underinvestment in education.
“You did not subsidise education in your state. Lecturers and doctors went on strike for 13 months! You may like him as a person, but he did not perform as a governor. That is the truth,” Sowore said.
He separately criticised Peter Obi’s own record on education subsidy during his Anambra tenure.
Amaechi’s response and challenge to Sowore
Amaechi defended his tenure, citing major rail projects completed during his time as Minister of Transportation, including the Lagos-Ibadan and Abuja-Kaduna lines.
“Who are those from Lagos? Is the Lagos-Ibadan railway working or not? In my time, it was working. I don’t know what is happening under Tinubu. There is Abuja-Kaduna rail, working or not?” he said.
When Sowore attempted to interject by raising Amaechi’s Rivers State record, the former minister cut him off and challenged him to verify his projects directly.
“Where are the Rivers lawyers? Please take Sowore around. Where are the Rivers lawyers who are present? Take Sowore around,” Amaechi said, listing roads and schools he said he had built as governor, before turning to Sowore directly: “Sowore, what is your experience?” He closed the exchange with, “When politicians are talking, close your mouth.”
Elsewhere at the same conference, Chief of Staff to the President Femi Gbajabiamila defended the federal government’s proposed state police reforms, as the presidential aspirants’ panel produced several other pointed exchanges over Nigeria’s worsening insecurity and economic conditions ahead of the 2027 general election.
Source: TheCable
