African Action Congress (AAC) presidential candidate Omoyele Sowore has said he asked former Rivers State governor and former Minister of Transportation Rotimi Amaechi to apologise following their heated exchange at the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) Annual General Conference in Port Harcourt.
The confrontation occurred during a panel discussion on Monday, August 24, when the two politicians disagreed over their records in public office and the contentious issue of petrol subsidy.
Sowore had criticised politicians who previously occupied government positions, arguing that those seeking political power again should account for their records and, where they failed Nigerians, apologise.
He specifically challenged Amaechi over his tenure as Minister of Transportation and questioned the performance of railway projects executed under his watch.
Amaechi responded by defending his record, citing the Lagos-Ibadan and Abuja-Kaduna railway projects and telling Sowore to allow politicians to speak.
The exchange became heated, with Amaechi telling Sowore to “close your mouth” while politicians were speaking. The confrontation was captured on video and subsequently circulated widely online.
Speaking about the incident, Sowore said he had asked Amaechi to apologise, maintaining that the argument should be about the records of politicians and their responsibility to Nigerians.
Sowore’s wider intervention at the conference focused heavily on fuel subsidy. He maintained that he had consistently opposed subsidy removal and accused successive governments of repeatedly promising that removing the subsidy would improve the Nigerian economy.
He also argued that increased government revenues following subsidy removal had not adequately translated into relief for ordinary Nigerians.
The confrontation comes as political figures position themselves ahead of the 2027 presidential election, with the records of former office holders and the economic consequences of past policies increasingly becoming subjects of public debate.
Sowore is expected to continue campaigning on his argument that Nigerians should scrutinise the performance of politicians who have previously held public office rather than relying solely on promises of future reforms.