Biography

Rotimi Amaechi: Biography, career, achievements, net worth

Rotimi Amaechi: Biography, career, achievements, net worth

Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi is a Nigerian politician. He served as the Minister of Transportation from May 16, 2022, until he resigned to run for president on the platform of the country’s ruling All Progressives Congress.

He served as Speaker of the Rivers State House of Assembly from 1999 to 2007 and the oil-rich Rivers State governor from 2007 to 2015. Amaechi confirmed his intention to run for president in 2023 on April 9, 2022.

Biography 

Ameachi was born on May 27, 1965, into the family of late Elder Fidelis Amaechi and Mary Amaechi in Ubima, Ikwerre Local Government Area of Rivers State. He was raised in Port Harcourt’s heavily populated Diobu neighbourhood. 

From 1970 until 1976, he attended St. Theresa’s Primary School for his early schooling. After attending Government Secondary School Okolobiri, he received his West African Senior School Certificate in 1982. Amaechi graduated from the University of Port Harcourt in 1987 with a Bachelor of Arts degree (Honors) in English Studies and Literature while serving as president of the National Union of Rivers State Students (NURSS).

In 1988, after completing the required National Youth Service Corps, he joined Peter Odili’s Pamo Clinics and Hospitals Limited, where he remained until 1992. Additionally, he serves as a director for several businesses, including West Africa Glass Industry Limited and Risonpalm Nigeria Limited.

Career

Rotimi Amaechi

Amaechi served as Secretary of the National Republican Convention in Rivers State’s Ikwerre Local Government Area during the transition to the Third Nigerian Republic. He also served as the Special Assistant to Peter Odili, the Deputy Governor of Rivers State, between 1992 and 1994. Amaechi’s boss saw potential in him as a young politician and took him under his wing. He served as the Democratic Party of Nigeria (DPN) caretaker committee secretary for Rivers State in 1996 during General Sani Abacha‘s transition period. 

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He ran for and was elected to the Rivers State House of Assembly in 1999 to represent his constituents. He subsequently won the election to become Speaker of the Assembly. Amaechi led the Conference of Speakers of State Assemblies in Nigeria. He was re-elected Speaker in May 2003.

When the National Assembly attempted to usurp the State House of Assembly’s constitutionally mandated legislative powers in 2003, he and his colleagues appealed the case to the Supreme Court.

Rotimi Amaechi used his close working relationship with Governor Peter Odili to improve the harmonious relationship between the Executive and Legislative arms of government in Rivers State until he launched a campaign against the state government and verbally attacked the reputation of the governor to succeed Odili in 2007.

Amaechi joined President Muhammadu Buhari‘s cabinet as the Minister of Transportation in 2015, following the latter’s victory. President Buhari renominated him for a ministerial job in July 2019. The Senate instructed Ameachi to bow and leave after his examination.

Governor 

Rotimi Amaechi as governor of Rivers State

Amaechi ran for governor of Rivers State in the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) primary in 2007, which he won. His name was substituted by the party, a move which he contested in court. After the Supreme Court determined that he was the legitimate PDP candidate and victor of the April 2007 governorship election in Rivers State, he became governor on October 26, 2007.

His administration built new roads and bridges connecting all of the state’s regions. The governor was also dedicated to the modernisation of transportation services and urban renewal. To provide public transportation inside Port Harcourt, his administration started construction on a monorail. A few power plant projects (Afam, Trans Amadi, Onne) were also constructed to increase the state’s electricity supply.

On April 26, 2011, he won re-election for a second term. Amaechi was one of the seven active governors who founded the G-7 faction of the PDP in August 2013. He joined five other members of the G-7 in defecting to the All Progressives Congress (APC) in November 2013, where he later took the role of Director-General for Muhammadu Buhari’s presidential campaign.

Rotimi Amaechi 2023

In April 2022, Ameachi declared to run for the 2023 presidential elections under the All Progressive Congress ( APC). He, however, lost the primaries to Bola Tinubu. While Tinubu had a total of 1,271 votes, Amaechi had 361 votes.

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Achievements 

Due to the actions of roving militia groups posing as Niger Delta insurgents, Rivers State was on the verge of anarchy when he was sworn into office. He swore to restore peace and order, knowing that it would be difficult to carry out developmental initiatives in the current climate of terror, which had compelled several companies and individuals to leave Rivers. 

In December 2007, he issued an order for a significant military offensive in Okrika, supported by the late President Umaru Yar’ Adua, which ousted members of the Ateke Tom-led Niger Delta Vigilante, and other raids around the state.

The state’s educational system had collapsed before 2007 as a result of years of disregard that had left the fundamental infrastructure in each of the 1,300 primary schools in ruins. It was usual to see school buildings with deteriorated roofs and cramped classrooms with children sitting on the floor to learn. 

Amaechi declared a state of emergency in the sector out of a desire to turn things around. First, he addressed the infrastructure gap by building 500 of the 700 new, contemporary primary schools with 14 classrooms and retraining and hiring 13,000 teachers.

Today, more than 250 of these schools are equipped, and the students receive free textbooks, school sandals, and uniforms. The state’s overseas undergraduate and graduate scholarship programmes have helped several hundreds of Rivers residents—both indigenous and non-indigenous—go to school abroad. 

His administration constructed approximately 110 health centres spread across almost all of the state’s wards to solve healthcare delivery concerns. In Port Harcourt, he also constructed the Prof. Kelsey Harrison Hospital and Dental-Maxillo Facial Hospital; however, the Braithwaite Memorial Hospital is still only a shell of what it once was. A contemporary school of nursing is being built in Port Harcourt.

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Net worth

Rotimi Amaechi as a chief of Daura

Rotimi Ameachi is an influential politician. According to several online sources, his net worth is estimated at N323.7 billion ($780m).

Family 

He is married to Judith Amaechi, with whom he has three sons. He is a Catholic and a Knight of the Order of Saint John (KSJ). 

To commemorate his 56th birthday on May 27, 2021, he transitioned into music and released his debut single, Blessed The People The Lord Has Chosen As His Heritage, with his wife.

Tribe

Ameachi is from the Ikwerre local government of Rivers State.

Age

Ameachi was born on May 27, 1965. He is 57 years old.

Conclusion 

Amaechi has been the target of accusations of corruption by his successor, Governor Ezenwo Wike, since he left office in 2015. Wike accused him of using public monies from selling state-owned oil and gas assets in Rivers, to support President Muhammadu Buhari’s campaign during the 2015 presidential election and misappropriating the transaction’s $309 million revenue. Amaechi has refuted the accusations levelled against him. In 2018, he admitted that, despite Buhari’s anti-corruption campaign, corruption still occurs within the government.

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Esther is versatile writer who thrives in writing top-notch long-form articles. She enjoys research and has an eye for details. She's currently a writer at BlackDot Media.
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