Wike lied, I wasn’t paid N4bn monthly by NDDC – Amaechi’s wife

• Nyesom Wike, in an interview in early July 2025, claimed that Judith corruptly enriched herself through NDDC where she received N4bn monthly, amounting to a total of N48bn

Judith Amaechi, the wife of former Transportation Minister Rotimi Amaechi, has said claims that she received N4 billion monthly from the Niger Delta Development Commission, NDDC, for women’s empowerment and training are absurd and baseless.

Recall that the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, FCT, Nyesom Wike, in an interview in early July 2025, claimed that Judith corruptly enriched herself through NDDC where she received N4bn monthly, amounting to a total of N48bn, to train Niger Delta women.

Nyesom Wike and Rotimi Amaechi used to be political allies as the former served under the latter as chief of staff when he was governor of Rivers State. Wike also succeeded Amaechi as the governor of the oil-rich Niger Delta State.

However, the relationship between the two has since become strained, with both parties becoming mutually resentful of one another and engaging in endless recriminations.

Responding to Wike’s allegation of corruption in a statement on Tuesday, Judith’s spokesperson, Dike Bekwele, stated Amaechi debunked Wike’s claim that she had been indicted in a corruption probe involving the NDDC, adding that the allegation levelled against her was a form of subtle blackmail aimed at scoring cheap political points.

Bekwele stated that there was no truth in the allegation levelled by Wike against Judith and the Empowerment Support Initiative, ESI.

“Dame Amaechi did not and has never received four billion naira monthly payments from the Niger Delta Development Commission, NDDC.

“The partnership between the Empowerment Support Initiative and the NDDC is reciprocal, to jointly fund human capacity programmes and trainings for the teeming youths and women; supporting nano, micro, small and medium scale entrepreneurs, and its entrepreneurial development centre for youths and women of the Niger Delta Region.

“It will be preposterous for Wike to allege that the Empowerment Support Initiative or Dame Judith Amaechi was indicted in the NDDC forensic audit report, which has not been published to the Nigerian public. It is absurd, baseless, and a mere figment of Mr Wike’s imagination,” the statement read.

Amaechi’s wife, however, dared Wike to make public his version of the forensic audit report on the NDDC, where either she or ESI was allegedly indicted