I’m not ready to work with you — your TV appearances won’t change anything, Wike tells Ireti Kingibe
Nyesom Wike, minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), has told Ireti Kingibe, senator representing the district, that no amount of television appearances would make him work with her.
Wike spoke on Tuesday during a news conference in Abuja where he addressed issues relating to the recent flooding in parts of the nation’s capital.
On Saturday, residents of the FCT were left stranded after heavy rainfall triggered flooding that submerged vehicles.
Speaking on Monday on Prime Time, an Arise Television programme, Kingibe said she had repeatedly raised concerns over flooding and blocked drainage channels in Abuja before the latest deluge, but her concerns were ignored by the minister.
The senator said she had always advocated cooperation between elected officials and ministers regardless of political affiliations.
‘I’M NOT APPOINTED TO WORK WITH AN INDIVIDUAL’
Reacting during the briefing, Wike faulted the senator’s comments, accusing her of failing to address the problems of the FCT through effective representation in the national assembly.
The FCT minister told the senator to stop lamenting her lack of access to him or any governor, saying he was not appointed to work with a single individual.
“She is the one who makes the law. The national assembly is her own house of assembly. I am not appointed to work with only one particular person. I work with everybody,” he said.
“I’m not going to work with her. There is nothing to work with because, you see, when you have laid a bad foundation, it is difficult to turn things around. It’s very difficult.
“If you are a lawmaker and you have identified problems that affect the people you represent, as a lawmaker, what you do is to tell members of the parliament: this is the problem with my people. You then go to your constituents, dialogue with them and discuss with them, not that ‘I want to see the minister, I want to see the governor’. What is that?”
The minister maintained that the senator had failed in her responsibility, adding that no amount of television appearances could change the minds of FCT residents who have decided to vote her out in the 2027 election.
“You have done nothing and the people know you have done nothing,” Wike said.
“If you like criticise, as long as this floor is concerned, the people have made up their minds that you’ve failed. So if you like, appear on Channels TV 20 times, appear in Arise 55 times… it would not change the mindset of the people.”
Wike said instead of using television interviews to “curry favour” ahead of 2027, the senator should focus on providing effective representation for her constituents.
“I won’t blame her because she has almost lost the election,” Wike said.
“All she’s doing now is whether the people can…But go and talk to the people. Tell them what you have done in the national assembly. Tell them the bill you have proposed for the benefit of the residents of Abuja.
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“If I am a legislator, for example, I represent the people. They must see you talk on the floor as per their own interest.
“They must see you propose a bill that would enable them to survive. It is not that once anything happens, you come to television. You dress in such a way that is not your own tradition just to curry favour.”
BACKGROUND
Kingibe was initially elected on the platform of the Labour Party but has since defected to the African Democratic Congress (ADC), while Wike remains a member of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
Wike and Kingibe got off on the wrong foot after she criticised his handling of FCT affairs in 2023. Their relationship has remained frosty in the years that have followed.
