Former Rivers State Governor and ex-Minister of Transportation, Rotimi Amaechi, has challenged Senator Adams Oshiomhole to make his academic certificates public following the senator’s description of him as “shallow” and “unreliable”.
Amaechi, who is the African Democratic Congress (ADC) vice-presidential candidate, issued the challenge during an interview on Rapid TV while responding to Oshiomhole’s recent criticism of his political conduct and credibility.
He attributed the senator’s attacks to his role in the removal of Oshiomhole as National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), alleging that the former Edo State governor was incapable of managing the party.
“What is paining Oshiomhole is that he was removed as Chairman of the party, and I led the team that removed him as Chairman of the party because he was incapable of governing the party,” Amaechi said.
The former minister described Oshiomhole’s characterisation of him as shallow as an attempt to undermine his reputation and question his intellectual capacity.
Defending his academic credentials, Amaechi listed his qualifications, including degrees in Law and Literature, postgraduate qualifications in both disciplines, and certificates from the University of London and King’s College London.
He also disclosed that he was pursuing a Master’s degree in Global Political Economy, challenging Oshiomhole to publicly present his own academic qualifications.
“He said I’m shallow, but I hold degrees in Law and Literature, Master’s degrees in both fields, and a certificate from the University of London.
“I also have a Master’s degree from King’s College London, and I’m pursuing a Master’s degree in Global Political Economy. Tell him to show his certificate,” he said.
The exchange followed Oshiomhole’s description of Amaechi as “shallow” and “unreliable”, accusing him of repeatedly attacking the APC and President Bola Tinubu.
Amaechi, however, questioned the senator’s assessment of his intellectual capacity, recalling that Oshiomhole had previously supported his emergence as chairman of the Nigeria Governors’ Forum (NGF).
In a counter-accusation, Oshiomhole questioned Amaechi’s political credibility, citing his previous criticism of former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar and his description of the ADC presidential primary that produced Atiku as fraudulent.
The senator alleged that Amaechi changed his position after Atiku approached him for political cooperation.
Oshiomhole also accused the former Rivers governor of mismanaging public funds while in office and leaving behind abandoned projects.
But Amaechi dismissed the allegations, questioning why the senator waited 12 years after his tenure as governor to raise the accusations.
He maintained that the claims were false, arguing that Oshiomhole had not raised the issues immediately after he left office or in the years that followed.
“It took him 12 years. Nigeria has not asked questions. Twelve years to accuse me, and falsely. He didn’t say it as I left office; he didn’t say it one year after, two years after, three years after. Why now?” Amaechi queried.
