The senator says Wike has appeared before the Senate FCT Committee once, but never before the full chamber to seek approval for borrowing.
Ireti Kingibe, senator representing the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), has alleged that Minister of the FCT Nyesom Wike has been obtaining loans for the nation’s capital without securing approval from the National Assembly.
Kingibe made the allegation on Tuesday while speaking on Channels Television’s Political Paradigm, where she discussed FCT administration, the Abuja Master Plan and lawmakers’ oversight responsibilities.
“I have never seen Wike come to the national assembly and before the senate to ask for approval of anything,” she said.
What Kingibe says the records show
The senator said FCT budgets are usually presented to the Senate through the relevant committee before being approved by the upper chamber, but alleged Wike had never sought legislative approval specifically for loans obtained on the FCT’s behalf.
She said she became aware of the borrowings after reviewing Debt Management Office (DMO) records covering the period between August 2023 and March 2026.
“I am definitely saying he has been taking loans without the approval of the national assembly. I don’t know about the house, but certainly not the senate,” she said. She clarified that Wike had appeared once before the Senate FCT Committee, but never before the full Senate to seek approval for borrowing.
“I have never seen Wike come to the National Assembly, come before the Senate, to ask for approval for anything. He comes before the FCT Committee, and that’s the only time it ever sat,” she said.
Kingibe challenged anyone disputing her account to produce evidence to the contrary.
“If anybody contradicts me, they should bring the Votes and Proceedings of the day that Wike came to the national assembly to ask for approval for anything,” she said.
She added that President Bola Tinubu, from whom Wike derives his powers, routinely submits loan and appointment requests to the National Assembly, arguing Wike’s powers could not exceed those of the Commander-in-Chief.
A long-running feud between Kingibe and Wike
The allegation is the latest flashpoint in a tense relationship between the two officials dating back to at least mid-2024.
Kingibe, the sole lawmaker representing the FCT, has repeatedly said she is excluded from key decisions affecting the territory despite sitting on its Senate committee, while Wike has openly said he has no interest in working with her and has repeatedly predicted she will not win re-election in 2027, citing what he calls a lack of visible projects in her tenure.
Kingibe, elected in 2023 on the Labour Party platform, has since defected to the African Democratic Congress (ADC) and has dismissed Wike’s influence over her political future, saying FCT voters alone will decide it.
