Kingibe while acknowledging ongoing road construction projects in FCT, argued that most residents don’t benefit from them.
By Kehinde Okeowo
Senator representing the nation’s capital, Ireti Kingibe has claimed the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, has an “emperor mentality”.
She made this known during a recent interview with Channels Television, where she also alleged that the ex-Rivers State governor failed to address key issues affecting residents of Abuja.
The Labour Party (LP) senator added that she initially decided to tone down her public criticism of the minister in hopes that it would encourage development and 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 minimize my public criticism of him. It’s not made any difference, because he has an emperor mentality.” Ireti said.
However, the FCT senator went on to say her decision yielded no results, alleging that Wike viewed her restraint as a sign of submission.
She added, “He just thought, ‘Oh, I’ve got her – end of matter,’ and things are even worse,” she said, adding: “At least in the first year I was senator, he paid the salaries of the FCDA staff. Now they’re not even being paid.”
While acknowledging ongoing road construction projects, Kingibe argued that most residents do not benefit from the new infrastructure.
“Yes, he’s building roads, but we don’t have public transport. So the bulk of Abuja residents do not benefit from the roads,” Kingibe further said.
