Presidential candidate of the African Action Congress, Omoyele Sowore, has asserted that his pro-democracy activism helped create the political environment that enabled former Rivers State Governor Rotimi Amaechi to rise to power .
Speaking during an interview on Arise News on Tuesday, Sowore reflected on his heated exchange with Amaechi at the Nigerian Bar Association’s Annual General Conference in Port Harcourt on Monday and said he had demanded an apology from the former governor . Amaechi instead invited him to his residence, Sowore recalled, adding jokingly, “I said no, I don’t want you to poison me, because I know you’re not happy” .
Sowore argued that his political experience should not be measured solely by whether he has occupied public office, stressing that his activism constituted a different form of leadership . “If I didn’t fight for democracy, Rotimi Amaechi would not be standing there yesterday if we were still under military rule,” Sowore stated, noting that Amaechi benefited from his “extraordinary struggle for democracy” .
The confrontation at the NBA conference began when Sowore challenged the records of politicians who had held public office, criticising Amaechi’s tenure as Rivers governor and his time as Minister of Transportation . Sowore specifically faulted a railway project, stating, “We have a former governor of Rivers state here, Amaechi, who built a rail line that went nowhere” .
Amaechi, vice-presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress, defended his record, citing roads, primary schools, and the Lagos-Ibadan and Abuja-Kaduna railway projects . The exchange escalated when Amaechi told Sowore, “When politicians are talking, close your mouth” .
Sowore maintained his opposition to the removal of fuel subsidy, saying he had warned against the policy before implementation: “We told them, remove our subsidy, we’ll ruin the economy” . He further said Amaechi was not an “Excellency” because he had not done anything excellent for Nigeria .