A chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC) and former National Publicity Secretary of the defunct New Peoples Democratic Party (nPDP), Eze Chukwuemeka Eze, has dismissed claims circulating in parts of the country that former Minister of Transportation and presidential hopeful, Chibuike Amaechi, lacked interest in driving development in Nigeria’s South East.
In a statement issued on Friday, Eze, a member of the APC Legacy Projects Media Team, said the allegations were unfounded and misleading, insisting that Amaechi’s railway revitalisation agenda under the administration of late President Muhammadu Buhari was designed to accommodate all regions of the country, including the South East.
He explained that the narrative of exclusion stemmed from misconceptions surrounding the pace and sequencing of rail infrastructure projects during Amaechi’s tenure, particularly the ongoing Port Harcourt–Maiduguri rail corridor.
According to Eze, the former minister revived Nigeria’s moribund rail sector and positioned it as a key driver of economic stability, contrary to claims that the South East was deliberately neglected.
Eze disclosed that he had received numerous calls and messages from concerned Nigerians in the South East questioning Amaechi’s plans for the region and alleging that the area was excluded from the railway development drive.
He cited one such message that queried Amaechi’s commitment to Igbo interests and accused him of failing to deliver rail infrastructure to the region.
Setting the record straight, Eze stressed that Amaechi, an Igbo from Rivers State married to an Igbo woman from Anambra State, would not have sidelined the South East in any national development agenda.
He noted that the Port Harcourt–Maiduguri rail project, a 1,444-kilometre standard gauge line, was conceived to reconnect the Eastern corridor, beginning with the Port Harcourt–Aba section, before extending to other parts of the region.
He recalled that funding and procurement challenges slowed the project, adding that the focus at the time was also on rehabilitating existing narrow-gauge lines before full modernisation.
Eze argued that it was therefore unfair to conclude that the former minister abandoned the South East in his railway blueprint.
To underscore Amaechi’s commitment, Eze quoted him as saying he had personally inspected ongoing reconstruction works on the Port Harcourt–Maiduguri line, with contractors operating simultaneously across different sections, and that priority was given to completing track-laying from Port Harcourt to Enugu before proceeding to subsequent phases.
Eze further expressed confidence that an Amaechi presidency would bring renewed attention to the South East, assuring that the former minister would pursue equitable distribution of national resources and address what he described as prevailing injustices against the Igbo under the current administration.
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He added that Amaechi would ensure the region receives all its constitutional entitlements and put an end to discriminatory practices, including what he termed the denial of additional ministerial representation to the South East.
On the question of secession and Biafra, Eze said Nigeria’s unity would remain a top priority for Amaechi, noting that any discussion around self-determination would only arise under extremely compelling circumstances and within the framework of regional and international laws.
He maintained that peace, unity and development would remain the core focus of an Amaechi-led administration.
