Ireti Kingibe laments, Wike “came to make life difficult,” fails to prioritise needs of most FCT residents
By Jeph Ajobaju, Chief Copy Editor
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“The women who were sweeping the streets, they have done so through several Ministers. Their situation was always protected because they were indigent women, widows.
“It was our way of ensuring that they got … so whenever any Minister comes along and wants to replace them with street sweepers, the trucks, we talk to him and say, no, we need them to do this. He leaves it.
“The current Minister came without consultation with anybody. He, in fact, not without consultation. In spite of imploration, he fired them all.
“He has not replaced them with anything. So the FCT has a Minister who most FCT residents will say came to make life as difficult as possible” – Ireti Kingibe.
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Senator Ireti Kingibe (LP, FCT) has accused Nyesom Wike of making life difficult for residents of the Federal Capital Territory that President Bola Tinubu appointed him to superintend as Minister.
She lamented that since Wike assumed office, he has failed to prioritise the needs of the majority of residents.
“Yes, he’s building roads, but we don’t have public transport. So, the bulk of Abuja residents do not benefit from the roads,” she declared on Channels Television.
Kingibe also questioned the relevance of some of Wike’s priorities, such as renovating the International Conference Centre (ICC) at N39 billion amid rising insecurity in the FCT and unpaid salaries of workers of the Federal Capital Development Authority (FCDA).
“The women who were sweeping the streets, they have done so through several Ministers. Their situation was always protected because they were indigent women, widows.
“It was our way of ensuring that they got … so whenever any Minister comes along and wants to replace them with street sweepers, the trucks, we talk to him and say, no, we need them to do this. He leaves it.
“The current Minister came without consultation with anybody. He, in fact, not without consultation. In spite of imploration, he fired them all.
“He has not replaced them with anything. So the FCT has a Minister who most FCT residents will say came to make life as difficult as possible.”
Kingibe also accused Wike of operating with an “emperor mentality”.
She said she initially toned down her public criticism of him in hopes it would encourage cooperation for the benefit of her constituents.
“In the last few months, I gave it some thought and said, ‘Okay, at the end of the day, all I want is for my people to benefit.’
“If being less antagonistic to the Minister would help bring development, then fine. So, I decided to minimise my public criticism of him. It’s not made any difference, because he has an emperor mentality.”
She alleged that Wike sees her restraint as a sign of submission.
“He just thought, ‘Oh, I’ve got her – end of matter,’ and things are even worse. At least in the first year I was Senator, he paid the salaries of FCDA staff. Now they’re not even being paid.”
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