Vice presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), Rt. Hon. Chibuike Amaechi, and presidential candidate of African Action Congress (AAC), Omoyele Sowore on Monday engaged in a shouting match during the annual conference of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) in Port Harcourt, the Rivers State capital.
The conference had in attendance the presidential candidate of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), Mr. Peter Obi and vce presidential candidate of the African Peoples Movement (APM), Alhaji Musa Daura.
Sowore had accused Amaechi, Obi and late President Muhammadu Buhari of non-performance while they held sway in government between 2015 and 2023.
But, Amaechi, who is also former governor of Rivers State reminded the AAC presidential candidate that majority of the infrastructural development in the state were carried out during his administration as governor.
He said, “Lagos -Ibadan railways, it is working or not? At my time, it was working. I don’t know what is happening under Tinubu. There is Abuja-Kaduna railway, working or not?
“Where are Rivers lawyers, please, take Sowore around. Sowore, I said I built that road, I built this road, I built this primary school, I built that primary school. What is your experience? When politicians are talking, close your mouth.”
Sowore had criticised politicians who supported the removal of fuel subsidies, accusing them of failing Nigerians while defending policies that benefit the political elite and challenged Amaechi, and Obi, over their records in government.
He said he had remained consistent in opposing the removal of subsidies, accusing Amaechi and his political allies of only recently changing their position on the issue.
“If there’s anyone who has been consistent about not removing our subsidies, it has been me. And it took Amaechi and his principal almost 10 years to catch up with me.
“They have now reversed their position on subsidies,” Sowore said.
According to him, the debate over subsidies should focus on who actually benefits from them, rather than portraying their removal as a policy designed solely to improve the economy.
“The question about subsidies is: Who are you subsidising? You are subsidising the elite. You are subsidising the government,” he said.
Sowore argued that state governments had been among the major beneficiaries of the removal of fuel subsidies because of the increased revenue allocations that followed the policy.
“The only people who are doing well since they removed subsidies are the governments of states. And when they talk about subsidies, they make it sound like they have not removed subsidies before,” he said.
The AAC chieftain said successive governments had repeatedly removed subsidies over the years while promising Nigerians that the economy would improve.
“I was a student in 1988. And in 1989, they removed subsidies. In 1990, they removed
subsidies. They said Nigeria will be better.
“We are in 2026. They are still removing subsidies,” Sowore said.
He accused the government of President Bola Tinubu of shifting the burden of its policies onto ordinary Nigerians, while also making a reference to Peter Obi.
“They are robbing Peter Obi to pay for Bola Tinubu,” he said.
Sowore maintained that poor Nigerians were the primary beneficiaries of fuel subsidies, arguing that the government had failed to provide comparable subsidies on other petroleum products.
“The poor people of this country only benefit from subsidies from petrol, gasoline. There is no subsidy on kerosene. There is no subsidy on A1 jet fuel.
“Please, don’t let these politicians lie to you,” he said.
Turning to Amaechi, who was also involved in the discussion at the NBA conference, Sowore said the former governor had acknowledged that most politicians seeking power had previously occupied government positions and failed to deliver meaningful change.
“I love one thing that Amaechi said. He said, apart from Sowore and Adebayo, the rest of us have been in government and we have failed,” he said.
“There are no people coming back. You guys should be apologising to the Nigerian people.”
Sowore also linked the subsidy debate to the need for a functional transportation system, arguing that Nigerians would have benefited from subsidised transportation if adequate infrastructure had been provided.
“One other thing I want to say is that when it comes to subsidies, transportation policy is important,” he said.
He criticised Amaechi over the railway projects executed during his tenure as Minister of Transportation, claiming that a rail line constructed under the former minister had failed to deliver the expected benefits.
“We have a former governor, Rivers State, Amaechi, who built the railway line that went nowhere,” Sowore said.
“If that rail line was working, subsidy would have been working for the people of Rivers State.
“I am not attacking you. But your records are here in Rivers State. And we cannot ignore that most of you have governed before.”
Sowore also criticised Obi’s record as Anambra State governor, particularly over education and industrial actions by public workers.
“Who refused to subsidise your people? Peter Obi did not subsidise education in his state. Lecturers and doctors went on strike for 13 months,” he said.
“You may like him as a president, but he did not perform as a governor.”
