Former Rivers State Governor and African Democratic Congress (ADC) vice-presidential candidate, Rotimi Amaechi, has blamed former President Olusegun Obasanjo for his children’s inability to receive their education in Nigeria, saying his family was forced to leave the country during a political crisis in 2006.
Amaechi made the disclosure during an interview with News Central Television on Friday, November 6, 2026, while recounting the circumstances surrounding his emergence as the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) governorship candidate for Rivers State ahead of the 2007 general election.
The former Minister of Transportation alleged that Obasanjo, who was president at the time, opposed his candidacy despite his victory in the PDP governorship primary and took steps to prevent him from becoming governor.
According to Amaechi, he challenged the situation in court but eventually left Nigeria after the former president allegedly threatened to have him arrested.
“President Obasanjo tried to stop me from being a governor, but you will see that I did not go to sleep. I went to court and, when he threatened arrest, I left the country,” he said.
Amaechi disclosed that he spent approximately 10 months outside Nigeria during the political crisis, adding that the situation also placed considerable strain on his wife and children, who allegedly had to move from one residence to another because of concerns about their safety.
He explained that his children’s education abroad was not initially a deliberate family choice but became necessary because of the uncertainty surrounding their security and his political circumstances.
According to him, by the time the crisis subsided, his children had settled into foreign schools, making it difficult to return them to Nigeria without disrupting their education.
“My children did not go to Nigerian school because Obasanjo chased us out of Nigeria. My wife and children were running from one house to another. They had to go to school outside the country to stay alive and to keep learning,” he said.
The ADC chieftain maintained that his children’s schooling abroad should therefore be understood against the backdrop of the political difficulties his family experienced rather than interpreted as a preference for foreign education.
The interview also provided another platform for Amaechi to criticise the administration of President Bola Tinubu, whose economic policies he has repeatedly accused of worsening the living conditions of Nigerians.
In a separate interview on Channels Television’s Politics Today on October 2, 2026, the former governor alleged that the rising cost of medicines under the Tinubu administration made it difficult for his family to obtain the medication required by his late mother, Mary Amaechi, who died on July 16, 2026, aged 89.
Amaechi argued that his mother had been healthy before Tinubu assumed office in May 2023 but that the increasing cost of essential medicines subsequently made her care more difficult.
He said the challenge reflected the wider difficulties faced by Nigerians in accessing affordable healthcare, particularly amid rising drug prices and the country’s dependence on imported pharmaceutical products.
The allegation attracted a sharp response from the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, who accused Amaechi of politicising his mother’s death.
Speaking on October 3 while addressing members of the Uzugbani Ekpeye National Executive Council and other stakeholders in Ahoada East Local Government Area of Rivers State, Wike questioned Amaechi’s explanation, citing the former governor’s previous public offices, including eight years as Speaker of the Rivers State House of Assembly, eight years as governor and eight years as Minister of Transportation.
The FCT minister also suggested that Amaechi was seeking public sympathy ahead of the 2027 general election.
In further remarks during the November 6 News Central interview, Amaechi intensified his criticism of the Tinubu administration, questioning the integrity of government officials and expressing concern over the country’s education crisis.
He also alleged electoral interference in Rivers State ahead of the 2027 general election, claiming that political actors could influence electoral officials and security agencies. He warned that there would be resistance to any attempt to compromise the electoral process.
Amaechi’s comments come as political parties and their candidates intensify preparations for the 2027 elections, with the ADC positioning itself as a major opposition platform.
As of the latest reports on the interview, there was no published response from Obasanjo addressing Amaechi’s latest allegations about the circumstances that led to his family’s departure from Nigeria.
The controversy has nevertheless revived memories of the 2006 Rivers political crisis, which culminated in Amaechi’s prolonged legal battle over the PDP governorship ticket and his eventual emergence as governor following the Supreme Court’s landmark decision in October 2007.
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