Governor Nyesom Wike of Rivers State has listed his arch-rival, Minister of Transport, Rotimi Amaechi, among several persons to be honoured by the state. Prospective honourees will be honoured for their individual contributions to the development of Rivers State. A list of honourees prepared by the Jubilee Anniversary Committee set up by Mr. Wike had Mr. Amaechi’s name at number 18 amongst 29 people to be awarded Grand Service Star of Rivers State. Former Nigerian leaders Goodluck Jonathan and Yakubu Gowon are also on the list, alongside late activist, Ken Saro-Wiwa, who would be honoured posthumously. Mr. Amaechi served as governor of Rivers State from 2007 to 2015. Mr. Wike succeeded him. The awards ceremony is slated to hold on May 27 in Port Harcourt, the state capital, according to the program pamphlet seen by PREMIUM TIMES. It was not immediately clear if the minister would accept the honour or personally show up to receive his medal from Mr. Wike, with whom he’d been locked in bitter political contest for more than three years. Mr. Amaechi’s spokesperson, David Iyofor, said he was not aware of his principal being identified amongst those to be honoured.
The award comes even as Mr. Wike appears to intensify attacks against his predecessor. Within the last few weeks, the governor has levelled many allegations against the minister. Shortly after a huge stash of cash was discovered in an apartment in Ikoyi, Mr. Wike took to media to link Mr. Amaechi with the money. The claim turned out to be false after it was confirmed that the money belonged to the National Intelligence Agency. On Monday, the governor accused Mr. Amaechi of raising a cult militia in the state, to prepare for 2019 elections. Mr. Amaechi denied the allegation.