Senator Ireti Kingibe, who represents the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), has called out President Bola Tinubu.
According to her, Tinubu’s greatest mistake was making Nyesom Wike the Minister of the FCT.
Kingibe stated this during an interview on Arise TV on Monday.
She criticised Wike’s leadership approach, calling it autocratic and accusing him of showing complete disregard for constitutional principles.
She said:
“The primary thing is that the minister doesn’t obey the rule of law. He’s autocratic. He doesn’t follow any rules or any laws. And when you try to draw his attention that governance is based on laws, the rule of law, he doesn’t accept that.”
The senator also alleged that Wike has been reinstating defunct agencies without any legal authority, further noting what she described as his disregard for due process and the rule of law.
“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,” she said.
Kingibe further claimed that Wike unlawfully revoked 7,000 out of the 11,000 hectares of land previously allocated to the University of Abuja, stating that the action contravenes the provisions of the Land Use Act.
“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,” she noted.
Kingibe stated that Wike’s actions have resulted in job losses and increasing dissatisfaction among residents of the Federal Capital Territory.
She said:
“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.”
Kingibe asserted that President Tinubu’s choice to give Wike significant political authority has negatively impacted his administration.
“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 demarcated him the most has been on Minister Wike,” she said.
