I asked Amaechi to apologise after NBA clash — Sowore

Omoyele Sowore, the presidential candidate for the African Action Congress, has detailed a heated exchange he had with former Rivers State Governor Rotimi Amaechi at the Nigerian Bar Association’s Annual General Conference. Sowore stated he asked Amaechi for an apology following their confrontation, asserting that Amaechi owed him for benefiting from the democracy Sowore helped establish.

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That’s why I said to him after the event, I called him and said, you should have apologised to me, and he asked me to come over to his house to eat and drink a beer.

Sowore, also a publisher, argued that his political activism and long struggle for democracy provided him with a different, valuable form of leadership experience. He told Arise News that Amaechi, who served as speaker, governor, and minister, would not have achieved his political positions if Nigeria remained under military rule. "That’s why I said to him after the event, I called him and said, you should have apologised to me," Sowore recounted.

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If I didn’t fight for democracy, Rotimi Amaechi would not be standing there yesterday if we were still under military rule.

He further elaborated that leadership requires vision, mission, and the ability to unite people, not solely accounting skills. Sowore rejected the notion that only those with prior governance experience should seek the presidency, emphasizing his commitment to good governance. "Even though they didn’t fight for what made them become leaders, I did," he declared, highlighting his foundational role in creating the political space for others to rise.

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He would never have been a speaker of the House for eight years, governor for eight years, minister for eight years. That’s one of the guys who benefited from my extraordinary struggle for democracy.