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Senator representing the Federal Capital Territory, Ireti Kingibe, has fired back at FCT Minister Nyesom Wike, declaring that she will not be intimidated by political pressure and insisting that no minister or public office holder is above scrutiny.
The latest exchange centres on Kingibe’s questions about borrowing by the FCT Administration. She has challenged Wike to produce the official Votes and Proceedings showing where the Senate approved the loans in question. Kingibe said she could not speak for the House of Representatives but maintained that the matter was never brought before the Senate.
Wike has rejected Kingibe’s position, arguing that government borrowing is captured in budgets and subjected to legislative approval. The minister also turned the dispute towards the 2027 election, saying Kingibe would not return to the Senate and expressing support for former FCT senator Philip Aduda.
Responding on Thursday, September 24, Kingibe said her responsibility as a legislator includes questioning government decisions, demanding accountability and scrutinising the use of public funds.
“No Minister, no matter how powerful, is above the law. No public office holder is above scrutiny,” Kingibe said.
She also rejected Wike’s comments about her political future, maintaining that the decision over who represents the FCT in the Senate in 2027 belongs to voters rather than any individual politician.
Kingibe further characterised attempts to intimidate or silence women in public office as unacceptable, saying female public officials should be able to ask difficult questions without being demeaned for doing so.
The dispute has therefore developed beyond the original disagreement over FCT borrowing into a broader political confrontation involving legislative oversight, accountability and the 2027 FCT senatorial election.
At the centre of the substantive dispute remains a factual question: what legislative records document approval of the FCT borrowings being contested by Kingibe? Wike maintains the borrowing followed the budgetary approval process, while Kingibe is demanding that the relevant Senate records be produced.
