According to a report by Channels Television on Tuesday September 8, 2026, the Publicity Secretary of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Rivers State, Chibike Ikenga, has rejected claims that the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, used the funeral of the mother of former Rivers State Governor, Rotimi Amaechi, as an avenue for political attacks.
Ikenga made the clarification during a recent interview with Channels TV, where he addressed the controversy surrounding remarks made by Wike at the funeral ceremony.
According to the Rivers APC spokesman, Wike did not intend to politicise the solemn occasion or make a direct attack on Amaechi.
He explained that the FCT minister’s reference to politics was limited to a previous statement made by Amaechi himself during the campaign ahead of the 2019 general elections.
Ikenga said Wike merely reminded Rivers people of Amaechi’s earlier position that they should support any political candidate who recognised them and was prepared to address their concerns.
In Chibike Ikenga’s words, “Chief Wike, the FCT minister and leader of the rainbow coalition, did not politicize the funeral of Rotimi Amaechi’s mother, the former governor.
What happened is that the only reference Wike made in his statement was that Rotimi Amaechi in the past, told us, the Ikwerre and Rivers people that we should vote for anyone who recognizes us and attends to our problems.
He was only quoting a statement made by Rotimi Amaechi himself in the past campaign, leading up to the 2019 elections. So he didn’t take a jab at him regarding his mother’s death.”
The comments come amid political tensions and differing interpretations of Wike’s remarks at the funeral, with some observers viewing the reference to past political statements as inappropriate for the occasion.
However, Ikenga maintained that such an interpretation was misplaced, insisting that Wike’s remarks should be understood within the context in which they were made.
He stressed that the minister’s intention was not to disrespect Amaechi or use the death of his mother to advance a political agenda. Rather, Ikenga argued, Wike was simply referring to a position Amaechi had publicly expressed years earlier.
The APC spokesman’s defence is expected to further fuel discussions surrounding the relationship between the two prominent Rivers politicians, whose political differences have remained a subject of public interest.