Amaechi Relives Political Journey
A former Governor of Rivers State and Vice Presidential Candidate of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), Rotimi Amaechi says he was 22 when he joined former Governor Peter Odili who mentored and supported him to become Speaker of the House of Assembly, but he is now on a different path with his benefactor
By Chinedu Oguh, Port Harcourt
As the 2027 general elections draw closer, conversations surrounding leadership, governance capacity and the empowerment of the younger generation have taken centre stage.
In a recent interview on Rapid TV on Wednesday, November 4, 2026, former Rivers State Governor, Rotimi Chibuike Amaechi, opened up about his political journey, reflecting on how early mentorship shaped his career and why he believes leadership must be about creating pathways for others.
Amaechi, who now is the vice-presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress (ADC) alongside Atiku Abubakar, traced his entry into public service back to his early twenties.
He emphasized that his rise was made possible because senior political figures recognized his potential and chose to invest in youth.
“I was given that opportunity by Dr. Peter Odili when I joined Dr. Peter Odili, I was 22, I became a member of the Prison Board, special assistant to the deputy governor, special assistant to the governor. You see the opportunity?”
He noted that even when skepticism arose regarding his youth, leadership chose to guide rather than block him.
He recalled how the Chief Judge felt he was initially too young to hold a commissioner position and instead suggested bringing forward someone older.
This led to his cousin, Sir Celestine Omehia being appointed Commissioner for Education due to his age and seniority. Amaechi’s political trajectory continued to climb through deliberate structural inclusion, culminating in his emergence as Speaker of the Rivers State House of Assembly at age under Dr. Peter Odili’s administration.
“When Dr. Odili was looking for who would be speaker in his regime, he supported me and I was speaker at 34. So, I was given that opportunity by them, the same way I should give others opportunity too.”
Tentacle gathered that the relationship between Odili and Amaechi started in 1987 when Odili who was then the Chief Medical Director of PAMO Hospital employed Amaechi as the Public Relations Officer (PRO) of the Hospital. He [Amaechi] was said to have done his job very well and won the heart of the Ndoni born medical doctor.
When Odili abandoned medical practice and joined politics in 1991, he carried Amaechi along. Luckily for Amaechi, when Odili was elected as Deputy Governor to former Governor Rufus Ada George, he was appointed Special Assistant to Odili and later elevated to Special Assistant to Governor Ada George.
In 1999, when Odili defeated other candidates to emerge as the governor of oil-rich Rivers State, Amaechi also won to represent Ikwerre Local Government Area in the Rivers State House of Assembly.
Tentacle learnt that Amaechi landed the job of Speaker of the Rivers State House of Assembly on a platter of gold, courtesy of Odili, a position he held for eight years and two-term Chairman of the Nigeria Speakers Forum.
41 years after the creation of Rivers State in 1967 no Ikwerre man has been elected or appointed a governor in a state where they are the largest ethnic group and owners of Port Harcourt, the state capital.
As Odili was leaving in 2007, he vowed that an Ikwerre man would succeed him and again, he looked to the direction of his political son, Rotimi Amaechi. But something dramatic happened! After scaling the hurdles and emerged as the consensus candidate of Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, in the state primary election, he was stopped by the powers from above. The then President of the country, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo said his candidature has a k-leg and so cannot fly.
Again, history repeated itself, as his cousin, he was appointed commissioner for Education, Sir Celestine Omehia was picked to replace him. Amaechi felt cheated and termed it as a day-light robbery. He took PDP to court to reclaim his mandate against the advice of Dr. Peter Odili. Odili gave him quit notice at his official residence, he became homeless and relocated to the neighboring Ghana where he pursued his case from.
Luckily for him, he won the case as the Supreme Court declared the election of Omehia null and void and ordered for his swearing-in. Omehia spent only five months in office as governor.
Since then, his relationship with his mentor and former boss has degenerated to the lowest ebb and they are no longer in talking terms.
It is not only Amaechi that is fighting Odili who made an Ikwerre man speaker and stood his ground that an Ikwerre man succeeded him. Omehia, Nyesom Wike and Martin Amaewhule, Rivers Speaker are at dagger drawn with Odili.
Meanwhile, the scholarship controversies between PAMO University of Medical Sciences and Rivers State House of Assembly has taken a new twist as Hon. Justice Frank Onyiri has nullified the State Assembly’s order to arrest the Vice Chancellor (VC) of PAMO Prof. Smith Jaja.
The court further granted perpetual injunction restraining the Assembly, the Police or any security agencies from in any way interfering with the rights of the applicant.
Delivering his ruling on Friday, October 30, 2026, Justice Onyiri at the Rivers State court sitting in Port Harcourt nullified the order made against the applicant by the Rivers State House of Assembly, holding that the setting up of a committee to investigate the employer of the applicant purportedly under section 128 of the constitution after the Appropriation Act 2026 had been passed and signed was a sham.
He held that the Assembly has no power to indict or adjudicate on the guilt of any person but only to investigate and receive evidence for and only for the purpose of section 128 of the constitution.
Stating that the declaration to arrest the Vice Chancellor by RSHA for failure to appear before its Ad hoc committee on September 25, 2026 is nullified.
The judge also upheld an order of damages against the Rivers State House of Assembly in the sum of N2 Million to be paid to the applicant. A big victory for Odili the founder and chancellor of PAMO Medical University against his detractors and those who want his downfall because of political differences.
