By Opeyemi Adelakun
Former Minister of Transportation Rotimi Amaechi has challenged the people of Cross River State to demand answers from Senate President Godswill Akpabio over allegations that oil wells belonging to the state were taken during Akpabio’s tenure as governor of Akwa Ibom State.
Amaechi made the call during a town hall meeting in Calabar, where political mobilisation activities were held ahead of the 2027 general elections.
The former Rivers State governor and African Democratic Congress (ADC) vice-presidential candidate insisted that his remarks were not driven by political differences with Akpabio, who belongs to the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC).
“I am not calling Akpabio out because he is in the APC. I am calling him out because he knows that I know what he did. Tell him Amaechi says Akpabio knows what he did,” he said.
He urged Cross River residents to seek clarification from the Senate President over the alleged transfer of their state’s oil wells to Akwa Ibom.
Amaechi also claimed that Akpabio had sought to take over oil wells belonging to Rivers State but was challenged in court, where he said Akwa Ibom lost the case.
The report did not include a response from Akpabio to the allegations.
Turning to infrastructure, Amaechi explained why the coastal railway project linking Lagos to Calabar, with a spur to Obudu Cattle Ranch, was not extended during his tenure as transport minister.
He said the project had been agreed upon but was estimated to cost $11 billion, adding that the government did not have the financial resources to execute it at the time.
The former minister subsequently questioned the Tinubu administration’s decision to embark on a coastal road project estimated at $16 billion, arguing that infrastructure spending should be guided by careful consideration of competing national priorities.
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