Judith Amaechi, wife of former minister of transportation Rotimi Amaechi, has strongly denied claims by the minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, that she received a N48 billion contract from the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) to train women in the Niger Delta.
Describing the allegations as “baseless,” Mrs Amaechi challenged Mr Wike to provide proof of his claims, which she believes are politically motivated.
The rebuttal was contained in a statement released by her spokesperson, Dike Bekwele, on Tuesday.
“There is absolutely no iota of veracity in the allegation made by Mr Wike against Mrs Amaechi and the Empowerment Support Initiative,” the statement said.
Wike, during an interview on Channels Television last week, had alleged that Mrs Amaechi’s NGO, the Empowerment Support Initiative (ESI), received N4 billion monthly from the NDDC for one year to run training programmes for Niger Delta women, totaling N48 billion.
“Through Mr Amaechi’s wife’s company, every month, N4 billion to train Niger Delta women. One year, N48 billion,” Wike claimed.
He further urged President Bola Tinubu to release the forensic audit of the NDDC to expose what he called financial irregularities during Mr Amaechi’s time in office.
Mrs Amaechi, however, refuted the claims, asserting that neither she nor her organisation ever received such amounts from the NDDC.
“The Empowerment Support Initiative (ESI), incorporated in 2011 as a non-governmental organisation, secured partnerships with development partners, including the NDDC, to execute joint human capacity programmes,” the statement explained.
“These included supporting nano, micro, small, and medium-scale entrepreneurs and entrepreneurial training for women and youth in the Niger Delta.”
Mrs Amaechi added that all collaborations between ESI and the NDDC were transparently executed and open to scrutiny, contrary to Wike’s insinuations.
She also dismissed as absurd Wike’s reference to the NDDC forensic audit, which has not been released publicly to allege her involvement in financial impropriety.
“It is both absurd, baseless, and a mere figment of Mr Wike’s imagination. The allegation of an indictment of Mrs Amaechi and the ESI is only a subtle blackmail to score cheap political goals,” the statement said.
Rotimi Amaechi, a former governor of Rivers State and one-time presidential aspirant under the All Progressives Congress (APC), recently credited his wealth to his wife, saying she is an industrious woman known for her entrepreneurship even during their time in government.
The political rivalry between Amaechi and Wike, who succeeded him as governor in 2015 has spanned over a decade, with frequent verbal clashes between the two leaders.
Mr Amaechi is now part of an opposition coalition pushing to unseat President Tinubu in 2027.
Meanwhile, when contacted, the NDDC’s director of corporate affairs, Seledi Wakama, declined to comment on Wike’s accusation.
Wike’s spokesperson, Lere Olayinka, dismissed Mrs Amaechi’s late response, saying the minister had already asked President Tinubu to release the audit report.
“If what he said is false, let the report prove him wrong,” he said, noting that Wike cannot release a document he did not authorise.