Wike to Kingibe: You won’t return to Senate

Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, has told Senator Ireti Kingibe that she will not retain her FCT Senate seat in the 2027 elections, as he defended the administration’s financing of infrastructure projects in Abuja.

Wike made the remarks on Tuesday while speaking with journalists after inspecting ongoing road projects across the Federal Capital Territory.

The exchange followed criticism by Kingibe over alleged loans obtained by the FCT Administration without the approval of the National Assembly.

Wike dismissed the allegation, arguing that government borrowing is incorporated into the budget and subjected to the required approval process.

“She is an illiterate, with all due respect, and that is why she is not going back to the Senate,” the minister said.

He also claimed that FCT residents had already decided whom they would support in the 2027 elections, mentioning former senator Philip Aduda alongside President Bola Tinubu.

“I don’t want to comment about her. When the time is right, let her pack her bags out, the people have made their choice by agreeing to support President Tinubu, and then will support Philip Aduda for Senate,” Wike said.

The dispute over the FCT’s borrowing has been ongoing, with Kingibe saying she raised concerns after reviewing information from the Debt Management Office covering August 2023 to March 2026.

She had questioned whether the FCT Administration secured the necessary legislative approvals for its borrowing.

The House of Representatives, however, has dismissed the allegation. Its Deputy Spokesman, Philip Agbese, said there was no evidence that Wike breached the required procedures in financing FCT projects.

Agbese said borrowing for infrastructure was not unlawful where the relevant approvals and procedures were followed, while stressing that public borrowing was subject to constitutional, statutory and administrative processes.

Wike said the more important issue was whether borrowed funds were being used to execute projects that benefit FCT residents.

“I thought she would criticise that I am doing nothing. So if her problem is that I took a loan, if I took a loan, I am using it to work,” he said.

The minister also linked his comments to the 2027 election campaign, saying the ongoing road projects were themselves evidence of the administration’s work.

“Look at what we are doing. That is the campaign,” Wike said, adding that residents could assess the projects being executed across the territory.

He said the ongoing infrastructure programme was aimed at improving transportation and stimulating economic activity, particularly in communities outside the city centre.

Wike expressed satisfaction with the progress of work on Arterial Road N1 and other routes, including the Tungan Madaki-Zuba and Kagini road corridors.

He said completing the projects would improve connectivity and create economic opportunities for residents of the affected communities.

The minister has previously backed Aduda, who lost the FCT Senate seat to Kingibe in the 2023 election, for a return to the National Assembly.