Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Minister Nyesom Wike has said Senator Ireti Kingibe will not return to the National Assembly in 2027, describing the lawmaker as an “illiterate” in a fresh escalation of their rift.

Wike made the remarks on Tuesday while responding to journalists during an inspection of ongoing road projects in the FCT.

This is coming days after Kingibe accused the FCT Administration of obtaining loans without the approval of the National Assembly.

Kingibe had said in August that she reviewed Debt Management Office records covering borrowings between August 2023 and March 2026 and raised the issue with the Senate leadership.

She said she had not seen Wike appear before the Senate to seek approval for the borrowings, arguing that legislative oversight should apply to the FCT’s finances.

The allegation was challenged by Deputy Spokesperson of the House of Representatives, Philip Agbese, who said Wike had committed no infraction and followed due process in financing FCT projects.

The dispute has also become part of the political contest over the FCT senatorial seat ahead of the 2027 elections.

Kingibe defeated former senator Philip Aduda, who represented the FCT in the Senate from 2011 to 2023 and is an ally of Wike, in the 2023 election.

Wike has repeatedly said Kingibe will not retain the seat in 2027. In March, he argued that the senator had no projects to show for her tenure.

Kingibe had previously dismissed suggestions that Wike could determine her political fate, saying voters in the FCT would decide who wins the election.

Returning to the loan issue on Tuesday, Wike insisted that the FCT Administration followed the required process.

“She’s an illiterate, with all due respect, and that’s why she’s not going back to the Senate. She has nothing to offer other than the paper of the city. There’s no law. There’s 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 aspect of this budget, the government is going to collect the loan,” the minister said.

Wike further claimed the FCT residents have made their choice ahead of the 2027 election. He also named Aduda as his preferred candidate for the Senate seat.

“I don’t want to comment about her. Yours is already: pack her bags out; the people have made their choice by agreeing to support President Tinubu, and then will support Philip Aduda. So, let us not waste our time reacting to inferiors who fail to get in all ramifications. I don’t want to react to it; I’m above that,” he said.

He argued that Kingibe’s concern should have been how the borrowed funds were being used rather than the decision to borrow.

“I thought she would criticise that I’m doing nothing. So if my problem is that I took a loan, if I took a loan, I’m using it to work. What 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 a loan, and that we must have taken a loan, that’s her problem,” the minister added.

Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Minister Nyesom Wike has said Senator Ireti Kingibe will not return to the National Assembly in 2027, describing the lawmaker as an “illiterate” in a fresh escalation of their rift.

Wike made the remarks on Tuesday while responding to journalists during an inspection of ongoing road projects in the FCT.

This is coming days after Kingibe accused the FCT Administration of obtaining loans without the approval of the National Assembly.

Kingibe had said in August that she reviewed Debt Management Office records covering borrowings between August 2023 and March 2026 and raised the issue with the Senate leadership.

She said she had not seen Wike appear before the Senate to seek approval for the borrowings, arguing that legislative oversight should apply to the FCT’s finances.

The allegation was challenged by Deputy Spokesperson of the House of Representatives, Philip Agbese, who said Wike had committed no infraction and followed due process in financing FCT projects.

The dispute has also become part of the political contest over the FCT senatorial seat ahead of the 2027 elections.

Kingibe defeated former senator Philip Aduda, who represented the FCT in the Senate from 2011 to 2023 and is an ally of Wike, in the 2023 election.

Wike has repeatedly said Kingibe will not retain the seat in 2027. In March, he argued that the senator had no projects to show for her tenure.

Kingibe had previously dismissed suggestions that Wike could determine her political fate, saying voters in the FCT would decide who wins the election.

Returning to the loan issue on Tuesday, Wike insisted that the FCT Administration followed the required process.

“She’s an illiterate, with all due respect, and that’s why she’s not going back to the Senate. She has nothing to offer other than the paper of the city. There’s no law. There’s 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 aspect of this budget, the government is going to collect the loan,” the minister said.

Wike further claimed the FCT residents have made their choice ahead of the 2027 election. He also named Aduda as his preferred candidate for the Senate seat.

“I don’t want to comment about her. Yours is already: pack her bags out; the people have made their choice by agreeing to support President Tinubu, and then will support Philip Aduda. So, let us not waste our time reacting to inferiors who fail to get in all ramifications. I don’t want to react to it; I’m above that,” he said.

He argued that Kingibe’s concern should have been how the borrowed funds were being used rather than the decision to borrow.

“I thought she would criticise that I’m doing nothing. So if my problem is that I took a loan, if I took a loan, I’m using it to work. What 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 a loan, and that we must have taken a loan, that’s her problem,” the minister added.