2027: ‘You won’t return to Senate’ — Wike tells Ireti Kingibe

ABUJA — FCT Minister Nyesom Wike has renewed his criticism of FCT Senator Ireti Kingibe, telling her that she will not return to the Senate in 2027.

Wike, who spoke to journalists on Tuesday during an inspection of road projects in the Federal Capital Territory, also described Kingibe as illiterate and rejected her allegation that the FCT Administration obtained loans without National Assembly approval.

“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. Anyone take a loan, you will include it in the budget that this aspect of this budget, the government is going to collect loan,” Wike said.

The minister said he did not want to continue responding to Kingibe, insisting that the people of the FCT had already chosen to support President Bola Tinubu and Philip Aduda for the senatorial seat.

“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. So, let us not waste our time reacting to inferiors who failed in all ramifications. I don’t want to react to it, I am above that,” he said.

‘I am using the loan to work’

Wike maintained that Kingibe’s focus should have been on how borrowed funds were being used to develop the FCT rather than questioning the borrowing itself.

“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. I thought her concern would have been: are we applying the loan to work for the interest of residents? She believes that we can’t run infrastructure without loans, and that we must have taken a loan, that is her problem,” he said.

He also described the timing of the criticism as politically motivated, noting that the ban on campaigns for presidential and National Assembly elections had recently been lifted.

According to Wike, the ongoing inspection of infrastructure projects also provided an opportunity to showcase the work being done by the Tinubu administration.

“When is the time to campaign? Look at what we are doing. That is the campaign. The ban on campaign has been lifted for the President and National Assembly, am I not right? 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. Who will see what Mr President is doing and will say that he will vote for another person? That is not correct. So, I am doing my job. While we are doing an inspection of the project, we are also doing a campaign,” he said.

Speaking on the projects visited, Wike said he was satisfied with the progress made on the N1 road and the stretches from Tunga Madaki to Zuba and Kagini.

He said completion of the projects would bring direct economic benefits to residents of the affected rural communities, stressing that the happiness of the people remained the essence of governance.

Africans Angle News