The African Democratic Congress (ADC) and the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) have clashed over former Rivers State governor and ADC vice-presidential candidate, Rotimi Amaechi, following his claim that the economic policies of President Bola Tinubu made it difficult for him to afford medication for his late mother.
The exchange began after Amaechi, in an interview on Channels Television’s Politics Today on Friday, linked his mother’s death to the rising cost of medicines under the Tinubu administration. He said his mother had been healthy before Tinubu assumed office in 2023 but that the rising cost of drugs subsequently made it difficult for him to provide the medication she required.
Amaechi’s mother, Dame Ezinne Mary Oduah Amaechi, died in July at the age of 89.
Reacting in a statement on Sunday, APC National Publicity Secretary, Felix Morka, dismissed Amaechi’s account and turned his criticism on the former governor’s financial circumstances, accusing him of depending on public office for his livelihood.
Morka described Amaechi as a “loafer, aimless and irresponsible” for allegedly being unable to earn a living outside public office, while listing his previous positions as Speaker of the Rivers State House of Assembly, governor, Minister of Transportation and presidential aspirant.
The APC also mocked Amaechi over his reported financial difficulties after leaving office, alleging that he had become “destitute” only three years after leaving public service. It further accused him of seeking the ADC vice-presidential ticket in 2027 as a means of returning to public resources.
The party said the presidency “is not a soup kitchen” for Amaechi, arguing that his own account of his financial circumstances raised questions about his suitability for the vice-presidency.
But the ADC Presidential Campaign Council hit back, accusing the ruling party of political cruelty and of turning a family bereavement into an occasion for partisan attack.
In a statement issued through its Director of Strategic Communications, Phrank Shaibu, the council said the appropriate response to Amaechi’s account should have been compassion rather than ridicule.
“If Rotimi Amaechi says he struggled to afford his mother’s medication, the humane response is compassion,” Shaibu said, arguing that the issue should instead draw attention to the wider difficulty Nigerians face in paying for healthcare and other basic necessities.
Shaibu also rejected Morka’s description of Amaechi as a “loafer”, saying Nigerians struggling to afford treatment, electricity and transportation should not be dismissed as irresponsible.
He accused the Tinubu administration of failing to adequately address what he described as deteriorating conditions in the economy, roads, electricity, security and public welfare. “The reality is plain: the roads are bad, the economy is bad, electricity is bad, security is bad and the welfare of the people is bad,” Shaibu said.
He challenged the APC to explain the condition of roads across the country, particularly in the South-East, arguing that rising public expenditure had yet to translate into affordable healthcare, reliable electricity and safe roads for many Nigerians. “The APC cannot boast about trillions in public spending while Nigerians lack safe roads, reliable electricity and affordable healthcare,” he said.
The ADC spokesman said the controversy should not be reduced to Amaechi’s personal circumstances, arguing that the rising cost of medicines and other essentials affects millions of Nigerians.
He urged Morka to account for the Federal Government’s record rather than attack Amaechi personally, while calling for respect for the former governor’s family during its period of bereavement.
The latest exchange has brought Amaechi, who is the ADC’s vice-presidential candidate for the 2027 election, directly into another political confrontation between the opposition party and the APC as both sides intensify their attacks ahead of the elections.
The APC has focused its response on Amaechi’s record in public office and his claim of financial difficulty, while the ADC has used the controversy to broaden the argument to the cost of living, healthcare and the impact of the Tinubu administration’s economic policies.