Tinubu’s Biggest Mistake Was Making Wike FCT Minister – Senator Kingibe
Senator Ireti Kingibe has described President Bola Tinubu’s appointment of Nyesom Wike as Minister of the Federal Capital Territory as his “biggest mistake,” accusing Wike of autocratic leadership and disregard for the rule of law.
Speaking in an interview on Arise Television, the FCT senator criticised Wike’s leadership style and slammed him for sidelining legislative processes in the administration of the nation’s capital.
“It’s my personal opinion that that is rather unfortunate, because if I were making a list of all the things that President Tinubu has done wrong, the greatest wrong he’s done to himself—the thing that has demarketed him the most—has been Minister Wike,” she said.
She accused the minister of reviving defunct agencies without National Assembly backing and taking unilateral decisions.
“Minister Nyesom Wike has brought back agencies without the enabling laws. If he wants these things, he should ask the National Assembly to create the enabling laws. But he doesn’t, because he’s just autocratic. He feels, ‘I can do anything’.”
Kingibe further alleged that Wike revoked land belonging to institutions and repurposed it for commercial use.
“Abuja University had approximately 11,000 hectares. Minister Wike has revoked 7,000 of it and left them with four. It is definitely against the Land Use Act for you to take land from institutions to give them to individuals.
“In Bwari, there’s land allocated for a general hospital. Minister Wike revokes it and he’s having some sort of a market or mall or something put on it.”
She said the FCT Minister also sacked female street sweepers who had relied on the job as their source of livelihood.
“Every minister has come and found the streets being cleaned by indigent women. Even when some ministers come and want to bring mechanical street sweepers, we say no. This is a source of livelihood for our indigent women, widows, and other underprivileged women. He comes, he’s fired them all… Then he doesn’t replace them with mechanical street sweepers. So, Abuja is looking dirty.”
On finances, the senator said hundreds of local contractors have been denied payment.
“There are these people called Abuja Small Indigenous Contractors… maybe about four or five hundred of them that had not been paid. He says, ‘No, I’m not paying them. I didn’t give them the job.’ And that’s that. Two years on, they haven’t been paid.”
She also accused the minister of causing friction with foreign embassies.
“Minister Wike has been harassing all of FCT over ground rent… including embassies.”
Kingibe vowed to present documents to oversight bodies and press for accountability.
“I’m going to take those documents and go to the body, the equivalent of his state assembly, and insist that that assembly—the president from whom Wike derives his powers—goes back to the National Assembly for approval for everything. Wike, who is deriving powers from him, does not go to the National Assembly for anything except budget. TSA, all his IGR, what has he done with it? He’s never accounted for anything.”
She dismissed opinion polls that show Wike enjoying public support in the FCT.
“You’re talking about that poll, depending on who conducted the poll and how it was conducted. I’m not knocking it, but I am saying local government elections are coming in a few months.
“When we come to any kind of election, can he tell the people, ‘Go and do this,’ and they do it? If he can’t, then it means that all that any minister has been doing is blustering and carrying on and just making noise.”
Kingibe said she had made efforts to collaborate with Wike for the good of Abuja residents, but he ignored her.
“I have tried to reach out for collaboration in the interest of Abuja residents, but he has refused to engage.”
Titilope Adako is a talented and intrepid journalist, dedicated to shedding light on the untold stories of Osun State and Nigeria. Through incisive reporting, she tackles a broad spectrum of topics, from politics and social justice to culture and entertainment, with a commitment to accuracy, empathy, and inspiring positive change.
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