Nigeria’s main opposition is facing a new internal storm as a 19‑page Rivers State government white paper has resurfaced, accusing former governor Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi of serious administrative wrongdoing and prompting a pro‑South political forum to warn the African Democratic Congress (ADC) that pairing him with Atiku Abubakar on a joint presidential ticket could be politically suicidal.
The document, titled “the judicial commission of enquiry for the investigation of the administration of Governor Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi on the sale of valued assets of Rivers State and other related matters” under the chairmanship of Honourable Justice George Otakpo Omereji, reportedly indicts Amaechi’s government between 2007 and 2015 over several high‑value projects.
It details the alleged “unjustifiable sale of 70% equity in the State‑owned First Independent Power Limited (FIPL) Gas Turbines,” suggesting that Rivers people lost strategic control of a key public power asset under his watch.
The white paper also accuses the administration of “flagrant violation of the Rivers State Public Procurement Law in the multi‑billion Naira Monorail and Justice Adolphus Karibi‑Whyte Specialist Hospital projects,” pointing to serious gaps in transparency and due process around two of the state’s most controversial infrastructure schemes.
In addition, it states that the government “diversion of over ₦3 Billion accessed from the Central Bank of Nigeria under the Commercial Agricultural Credit Scheme (CACS),” turning what was meant to support large‑scale agriculture into another line in a catalogue of alleged mismanagement.
According to the Southern Political Progressives Amalgamation Forum (SPPAF), this white paper is already public, available as a “White‑Paper‑Investigation‑of‑Amaechi — a 19‑page pdf white paper that can be easily obtained from the Rivers State government for ₦500,” and has effectively “codified” a set of administrative indictments that can be weaponised in court against any future ticket involving Amaechi.
In a statement signed by convener Fidel Anga and others, SPPAF said, “The Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, working hand‑in‑hand with President Bola Tinubu and the formidable All Progressives Congress (APC) machinery, has repeatedly vowed to politically neutralize his adversaries.”
The group warned that “The APC‑Wike machinery is fully armed with these codified administrative indictments detailed in this 19‑page white paper,” and that once an Atiku‑Amaechi ticket gathers momentum, those files would be ready tools for pre‑election litigation.
SPPAF Warns ADC Against ‘Atiku–Amaechi’ Ticket Trap
SPPAF’s statement takes direct aim at internal opposition realignments ahead of the next electoral cycle.
It observed that, “As Nigeria’s political landscape undergoes rapid realignments ahead of impending electoral cycles, rumors and strategic maneuvers suggesting a potential joint ticket between former Vice President Atiku Abubakar and the former Governor of Rivers State, Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi, represent a clear and present danger to the opposition’s survival.”
The forum therefore said, “SPPAF strongly counsels the ADC against endorsing, facilitating or aligning with any such political configuration.”
It argued that “The core danger of bringing Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi onto a high‑profile joint ticket lies in his extensive, state‑documented vulnerabilities,” pointing back to the commission’s findings and the accepted white paper.
SPPAF framed Nyesom Wike’s alliance with APC as a major factor.
It warned that, “An Atiku‑Amaechi ticket plays directly into the hands of this alliance. The APC machinery does not need to defeat such a ticket at the ballot box; they are fully prepared to destroy it in the courts using the David Lyon Bayelsa Guber Precedent.”
To drive home the risk, the group recalled the 2020 Bayelsa episode.
It said, “As a stark reminder, in 2020, David Lyon won the Bayelsa gubernatorial election decisively, only to be sacked by the Supreme Court less than 24 hours before his swearing‑in because his running mate presented conflicting documents with discrepant names as a joint ticket is legally indivisible, the running mate’s flaw instantly disqualified the entire victory, handing power directly to the opposition.”
On that basis, SPPAF argued that, “By introducing Amaechi into an opposition ticket, the ADC and its partners would be adopting an administrative minefield.”
It warned that, “The moment an Atiku‑Amaechi ticket gains traction, the state apparatus will deploy technical pre‑election litigations, exploiting these exact files to secure a total judicial disqualification. The ADC will be left holding an invalidated, collapsed ticket just before swearing‑in, precisely mimicking the David Lyon disaster.”
In a direct appeal, the forum said, “The Southern Political Progressives Amalgamation Forum (SPPAF) urges the ADC to protect its hard‑earned institutional credibility.”
It concluded with a blunt caution.
It said, “Do not let the party become a casualty of Nyesom Wike’s ongoing political warfare. The ADC must reject any alliance tied to heavily compromised political actors and instead focus on unassailable, legally clean candidates who cannot be dismantled by technicalities in a court of law.”
