African Action Congress (AAC) presidential candidate Omoyele Sowore has said former Rivers State Governor Rotimi Amaechi would not have become Speaker of the Rivers State House of Assembly, governor or minister without the struggle for democracy during the military era.

Sowore made the remarks in an interview with Arise Television on Tuesday, following his heated exchange with Amaechi at the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) annual conference in Port Harcourt on Monday.

The confrontation followed Sowore’s criticism of politicians who had previously held public office, whom he accused of repeatedly making promises to Nigerians. He also questioned Amaechi’s handling of the rail project during his tenure as Rivers governor.

Amaechi, in response, highlighted infrastructure projects executed during his tenure as governor and later as Minister of Transportation, while telling Sowore to “close your mouth” when experienced politicians were speaking and challenging him to demonstrate his own experience.

Reflecting on the exchange, Sowore said he asked Amaechi to apologise after the event, arguing that the democratic environment that enabled the former governor’s political career was partly created by activists who fought military rule.

“If I did not fight for democracy, Rotimi Amaechi would not be standing there yesterday. If we are still under military rule, he would never have been speaker, governor for eight years, and minister for eight years,” Sowore said.

“He is one of the guys who benefitted from my extraordinary struggle for democracy. That is what I said to him after the event.

“I called him; I said, ‘you should apologise to me’. He asked me to come over to his house to eat. I said, ‘no, I don’t want you to poison me because I know you are not happy.’ I’m just kidding.”

Sowore also rejected suggestions that he lacked the experience required to hold political office, saying his experience had been shaped by his activism and years of campaigning for democratic governance.

He further claimed that some of the policies and ideas currently being discussed by politicians were positions he had advocated earlier, including his warnings about the potential consequences of petrol subsidy removal on Nigeria’s economy.