Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, has said Senator Ireti Kingibe will not retain her seat in the Senate after the 2027 election.
Kingibe is a member of the opposition African Democratic Congress (ADC).
He also criticised the lawmaker over her comments on the FCT Administration.
Wike spoke on Tuesday during an inspection of road projects in Abuja.
He defended the decision of the administration to borrow money to finance infrastructure across the Federal Capital 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. Anyone take a loan, you will include it in the budget; this aspect of the budget, the government is going to collect loan,” the minister said.
Wike also said he was not interested in spending more time responding to the senator, claiming that residents of the territory had already decided who they wanted to support in the next election.
“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.
Wike has backed former senator Philip Aduda for the FCT Senate seat. Aduda is the candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC).
The latest exchange was triggered by Kingibe’s allegation that the FCT Administration had taken loans without the approval of the National Assembly.
Kingibe had raised the issue during an interview with Channels Television, saying she relied on information from the Debt Management Office and questioned the increase in the FCT’s domestic debt since Wike became minister.
“I am definitely saying Wike has been taking loans without the approval of the National Assembly.
“I’m sorry to say, with all due respect to the Senate, of which I’m a member, we’re supposed to oversee him.
“We’re supposed to approve, and I have brought to the attention of the leadership of the Senate that the FCT is borrowing money.
“I have never seen Wike come to the National Assembly, come before the Senate, to ask for approval for anything. He comes before the FCT Committee, and that’s the only time it ever sat,” she said.
The debt figures cited in the dispute showed that the FCT’s domestic debt stood at N88.51 billion in September 2023 and had risen to N389.88 billion by March 2026.
The increase was not consistent throughout the period. The debt moved to N94.01 billion in March 2024 before falling to N53.43 billion in September 2024. It subsequently rose to N78.93 billion in September 2025, N188.86 billion in December 2025 and N389.88 billion by March 2026.
Wike rejected the argument that borrowing itself amounted to wrongdoing, saying the focus should instead be on what the administration was doing with the money.
“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.
The House of Representatives had earlier rejected Kingibe’s allegation, with its Deputy Spokesman, Philip Agbese, saying there was no evidence that the FCT Administration breached the required procedures in financing its infrastructure projects.
Agbese said borrowing for infrastructure was not unlawful where the necessary approvals and procedures had been followed.
Beyond the loan dispute, Wike used Tuesday’s inspection to showcase ongoing infrastructure projects across the FCT.
He inspected work on the N1 road and other routes linking Tunga Madaki to Zuba and Kagini, expressing satisfaction with the progress recorded on the projects.
According to the minister, the completed roads would improve transportation and economic activity in communities around the affected areas. He said infrastructure development was ultimately aimed at improving residents’ quality of life.
Wike also connected the project inspection to the 2027 election, saying the work being carried out by the FCT Administration would allow residents to see what he described as the achievements of the Tinubu administration.
“When is the time to campaign? Look at what we are doing. That is the campaign. The ban on campaigning has been lifted for the President and National Assembly, am I not right? As I finish now, then she knows what we are doing, and they are seeing every road, and telling 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.
