The burial of Dame Ezinne Mary Oduah Amaechi, mother of former Rivers State Governor Rotimi Amaechi, on Saturday, September 5, has triggered a fresh political storm between Amaechi and FCT Minister Nyesom Wike.

This is due to Wike’s controversial move on Amaechi’s mother’s burial day

While Amaechi was burying his mother in Ubima, Ikwerre Local Government Area, Wike attended a civic reception organised in his honour at Omagwa, also in Ikwerre LGA and relatively close to Ubima.

The reception was organised by the Ikwerre LGA chairman, Charles Wobodo, and was held on the very day of the burial.

The timing immediately became controversial because mourners and political dignitaries travelling to Ubima had to pass through the Omagwa axis. Reports said the development resulted in heavy security presence and traffic restrictions, with one report stating that a section of the road was barricaded, causing delays for people heading to the burial.

The African Democratic Congress (ADC) went much further, alleging that the reception was deliberately designed to disrupt access to Ubima. The party’s Rivers publicity secretary, Chizi Enyi, alleged that Wike and the Ikwerre LGA chairman had arranged the event to create a situation that could shut down the road to Amaechi’s hometown.

This development has triggered a backlash against Wike because the decision has attracted strong criticism from Amaechi’s political allies and other commentators, who have described the timing as insensitive, provocative and an unnecessary display of political rivalry during a family’s moment of mourning.

ADC chieftain Felix Ekpendu questioned why Wike’s reception had to take place in Amaechi’s political stronghold on the very day his mother was being buried. He accused Wike’s camp of taking their longstanding rivalry too far and urged politicians not to turn personal political differences into bitterness.

Another ADC chieftain, Chief Eze Chukwuemeka Eze, similarly criticised the decision, arguing that the gathering appeared designed to compete with or distract attention from the burial, although he also did not provide independent evidence establishing such an intention.

The criticism has been intensified by the fact that several prominent Nigerian politicians across party lines attended Amaechi’s mother’s burial, including Atiku Abubakar, Peter Obi, David Mark, Yemi Osinbajo and other notable figures.

Wike, despite being an Ikwerre political heavyweight and Amaechi’s former political ally, was not at the burial.

Wike, however, used the occasion to attack Amaechi. Rather than allowing the day to pass without political confrontation, Wike reportedly used his Omagwa reception to make a fresh political statement about Amaechi.

According to reports, Wike told his supporters that Amaechi already knows he cannot defeat his political camp in the 2027 elections, arguing that Amaechi’s real test would be whether he could win his own polling unit and his hometown of Ubima. He was also quoted to have said “Amaechi chose Buhari over Jonathan, we’ll pay him back.”

That has further fuelled criticism that the reception was not merely a social event but another chapter in the increasingly bitter Wike and Amaechi political war ahead of 2027.

The bigger picture of what happened on September 5 has therefore been interpreted by Wike’s critics as more than a scheduling coincidence. To them, it was a calculated political show of strength on a day that should have been devoted entirely to mourning.

However, it is important to distinguish what is confirmed from what is alleged. Wike’s reception in Omagwa on the same day is established; the reported traffic disruption and security restrictions are also reported. But claims that Wike deliberately organised the event to obstruct Amaechi’s burial are still allegations from his political opponents that is yet to be verified

The episode nevertheless demonstrates just how deep the Wike and Amaechi rivalry has become, and why their confrontation is increasingly being viewed through the lens of the 2027 political battle for Rivers State and the wider opposition realignment.