Rotimi Chibuike Amaechi

Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi (born 27 May 1965) is a Nigerian politician who served as the federal minister of transportation of Nigeria from 2015 to 2022 under President Muhammadu Buhari. He resigned to contest for Nigeria's presidency under the All Progressive Congress (APC).

He previously served as governor of oil-rich Rivers State from 2007 to 2015 and earlier as speaker of the Rivers State House of Assembly from 1999 to 2007. On 9 April 2022, Amaechi declared interest to contest in the 2023 presidential election, polling second in the APC primaries behind Bola Tinubu with 316 delegate votes in June 2022. He is currently a member of the African Democratic Congress (ADC).

Born in Ubima Community, Ikwerre Local Government Area of Rivers State, Amaechi comes from the family of the late Elder Fidelis Amaechi and Mary Amaechi. His first and last names are Igbo, meaning ‘God is strength or power’ and ‘who knows tomorrow,’ respectively. Raised in Diobu, Port Harcourt, he attended St. Theresa's Primary School from 1970 to 1976.

Amaechi received a Bachelor of Arts degree (Honours) in English Studies and Literature from the University of Port Harcourt in 1987, where he was president of the National Union of Rivers State Students (NURSS). He completed the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) in 1988 and worked at Pamo Clinics and Hospitals Limited until 1992. He was also a director of companies like West Africa Glass Industry Limited and Risonpalm Nigeria Limited.

During the transition to the Third Nigerian Republic, Amaechi was secretary of the National Republican Convention in Ikwerre Local Government Area. Between 1992 and 1994, he served as special assistant to the deputy governor of Rivers State, Peter Odili, who mentored him. In 1996, he was the Rivers State’s secretary of the Democratic Party of Nigeria (DPN) caretaker committee during General Sani Abacha’s transition program.

In 1999, Amaechi contested and won a seat in the Rivers State House of Assembly, later becoming its speaker. He was elected chairman of Nigeria’s Conference of Speakers of State Assemblies. In May 2003, he was re-elected speaker. In 2003, he and his colleagues took the matter to the Supreme Court over the National Assembly’s alleged hijacking of state legislative functions. As speaker, Amaechi improved relations between the executive and legislative arms of Rivers State government with Governor Peter Odili.

However, he later launched a campaign against Odili, verbally attacking the governor to succeed him in 2007. Amaechi contested and won the PDP primary for Rivers State Governor in 2007, though his name was substituted by the party, which he later challenged in court. The Supreme Court ruled he was the rightful candidate, and he became governor on 26 October 2007.

During his administration, Amaechi invested in infrastructure development, constructing roads and bridges, and committed to urban renewal and modernization of transportation services. His administration began building a monorail for mass transportation in Port Harcourt. Power plant projects (Afam, Trans Amadi, Onne) were also constructed to improve power supply in the state. He was re-elected for a second term on 26 April 2011.

In August 2013, Amaechi joined the G-7 faction within the PDP. In November 2013, he defected to the All Progressives Congress (APC), becoming the director-general of Muhammadu Buhari’s presidential campaign. Following Buhari’s election, Amaechi was appointed to his cabinet as federal minister of transportation in 2015.

He was re-nominated for ministerial appointment by President Buhari in July 2019 but was asked to take a bow and go during his screening by the Senate. Under his tenure as Minister of Transportation, Amaechi oversaw major rail projects, including the 326KM Warri-Itakpe Standard Gauge Rail line, 157KM Lagos-Ibadan line extension, and the 790KM segment 3 of Ibadan-Ilorin-Minna-Kano Rail line. He also launched the Warri-Itakpe Train Service with 16 wagons of 96 NNPC gas pipes.

He created over 11,300 jobs from rail modernization projects, including the purchase of 377 wagons, 64 coaches, and 21 locomotives. He established the Kajola Wagon Assembly Plant and trained engineers in China to localize railway technology. Amaechi also worked on port infrastructure, commissioning the Kaduna Inland Dry Port, Dala Inland Dry Port in Kano, and the Lekki Deep Seaport. He introduced electronic ticketing on the Abuja-Ibadan route and improved maritime sector development through initiatives like the Maritime Bank and restructuring of the Maritime Academy of Nigeria.

He sponsored cadets for sea training and secured berths for over 550 cadets globally. Despite allegations of corruption by his successor Nyesom Wike, Amaechi has denied wrongdoing and acknowledged corruption persists in the Buhari administration. In May 2022, the Supreme Court granted a Rivers State panel of enquiry to probe Amaechi over alleged ₦96 billion fraud. He is married to Judith Amaechi and has three sons. He is a Catholic and a Knight of the Order of Saint John (KSJ).

On 27 May 2021, he released his debut single, ‘Blessed the People the Lord Has Chosen As His Heritage,’ in collaboration with his wife. On 19 November 2022, Amaechi announced he had become a certified graduate of law alongside photos of his convocation. Amaechi holds the national honour of Commander of the Order of the Niger (CON). He declared interest to contest in the 2027 Presidential Elections as ADC.