Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, has told Senator Ireti Kingibe that she will not return to the National Assembly in 2027.
Wike also dismissed Kingibe’s allegation that the FCT Administration obtained loans without the approval of the National Assembly, insisting that all loans secured by the administration followed due process.
The minister spoke on Tuesday while responding to journalists during an inspection of ongoing road projects in the FCT.
Wike described Kingibe as “an illiterate” and said she had little to offer residents of the territory.
“She is an illiterate, with all due respect, and that is why she is not going back to the Senate. She has nothing to offer to the people of the FCT. There is no way you can go and take a loan without the approval of the National Assembly,” Wike said.
He said he did not want to engage further with the senator’s comments, adding that residents had already made their choice to support President Bola Tinubu and his preferred candidate for the FCT senatorial seat, Philip Aduda.
“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,” he said.
Wike argued that Kingibe should instead be concerned about how borrowed funds were being used to develop the FCT.
“If I took a loan, I am using it to work. I thought her concern would have been: are we applying the loan to work for the interest of residents?” he said.
The FCT minister also linked Kingibe’s criticism to the commencement of campaigns for the presidential and National Assembly elections.
He said the ongoing inspection of projects was itself an opportunity to showcase the achievements of the Tinubu administration.
“The ban on campaign has been lifted for the President and National Assembly. As I finish now, then she know what we are doing, and they are seeing every road, and tell everyone that this is what President Tinubu is doing,” Wike said.
On the projects inspected, the minister expressed satisfaction with the progress recorded at various sites, including the N1 road and stretches from Tunga Madaki to Zuba and Kagini.
He said the completion of the projects would boost economic activities in rural communities affected by the road construction, adding that improving the welfare of residents remained the essence of governance.
