Lere Olayinka, Senior Special Assistant on Public Communications and Social Media to FCT Minister Nyesom Wike, has challenged Arise Television anchor Reuben Abati over claims that former Transportation Minister Rotimi Amaechi is Wike's "boss in politics."

The dispute emerged after Abati criticized Wike for being "very rude and disrespectful" toward Amaechi during a recent television appearance. Abati had asserted that Wike should show more respect to Amaechi, claiming the former Rivers governor had helped Wike become a local government chairman and later recommended him for a ministerial position.

"Wike is very rude and disrespectful because Amaechi is his boss in politics. When he was local government chairman during Amaechi's second term, it was Amaechi who helped him to become LGA Chairman and subsequently became Chief of Staff and recommended him to become Minister of State for Education in Abuja," Abati had stated.

Responding via Facebook, Olayinka questioned the basis of Abati's assertion, arguing that the timeline of their political careers contradicts the claim of Amaechi being Wike's superior.

"So how is Rotimi Amaechi Wike's boss in politics? When Amaechi was a House of Assembly member, Wike was a Local Government Chairman," Olayinka wrote.

He further recalled that during the 2007 political crisis in Rivers State, "When Amaechi ran to Ghana in 2007, Wike was in Nigeria, leading the charge to retrieve Amaechi's mandate."

Olayinka also criticized Abati's objectivity, describing him as "a POLITICIAN who has a clear political affiliation" yet "forming objectivity" in his role as a television anchor.

The exchange follows Wike's recent comments that Amaechi was "hungry for power" and failed to deliver significant votes for former Vice President Atiku Abubakar in the 2023 presidential election.

This public disagreement highlights the ongoing tensions between key political figures in Rivers State, where Wike and Amaechi have been at the center of political rivalries for years, with their conflict now extending to media debates about their historical relationship and political hierarchy.