Rotimi Amaechi, the 2027 vice presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress, says he would rather keep mum than respond to insults directed at him by his political subordinates.

“I don’t respond to my subordinates. Wike never hired me,” Mr Amaechi said on Channels TV on Tuesday.

The politician’s comment came hours after FCT minister Nyesom Wike, in a media chat in Abuja, described Mr Amaechi as a “political liability” lacking in any electoral value.

Mr Wike further alleged that the ADC presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar, settled for Mr Amaechi as his running mate for financial reasons rather than his voting strength.

“If you are choosing a vice-presidential candidate, a running mate, I’m sure the only factor that has been used to choose Rotimi Amaechi may be financial because the former governor lacks the capacity to deliver votes,” the FCT minister stated.

Mr Amaechi said he would start responding by “the time we finish mourning and go into the campaigns, I’ll insult anybody who insults me”.

Messrs Amaechi and Wike, both former governors of Rivers, have been locked in a fierce political feud for years.