…FCT residents resent Wike—Ireti Kingibe

…Says LG polls will show he doesn’t control Abuja

…I won’t be distracted by shenanigans of Kingibe —Wike

By Omeiza Ajayi

Abuja—The senator representing the Federal Capital Territory, FCT, Ireti Kingibe, has said the conduct of the minister in charge of the territory, Nyesom Wike, was fuelling resentment among residents.

But Wike in a swift reaction by his Senior Special Assistant on Public Communication and Social Media, Mr Lere Olayinka, said he woud not be distracted by the political shenanigans of the senator.

However, speaking on ‘Political Paradigm,’ a programme on Channels Television  yesterday, Kingibe said Wike was out of touch with the needs of the people.

She said:  “Most of Abuja is pitch dark, so I go there, put solar lights in between the places, light up the place so that young people will at least have… you can’t keep them at home, so they’ll at least be safer.

“They will come give me awards, commend me for  looking out for them. It’s not that he (Wike) wouldn’t have done it too, except he doesn’t know what they need.”

She said residents often write to her to raise security concerns regarding their communities, noting: “I know Karu market is pitch dark, I put lights there.

”Communities will write to me: There’s so much insecurity around this place. A few lights will make a difference. I put it.

“Solar lights are cheap, but how many can I put? For where I can put one, the minister can put a thousand. Do you see the difference?”

LG polls will show he doesn’t control Abuja

On Wike’s recent remark that she would not return to the Senate in 2027, Kingibe said she was not desperate to run.

“You know, I was not interested in running, you want to bet? I know for certain that when I decide to run, it’s a shoo-in,” she said.

She said the area council elections scheduled for early next year would serve as a referendum on Wike’s stewardship.

Kingibe added:  “Local government elections are coming early next year. That is when the people of the FCT show ministers, ‘we like you  or  we  do not like you.’

“The local government election is going to tell whether Wike controls FCT because nobody does.”

Kingibe said residents of Abuja were independent-minded and united by their dissatisfaction with the current minister.

She said: “It’s only people who have lived here for a long time, who know that the people of the FCT have their independent mind.  And it’s people who live here, you walk on the streets, and you will know that the one thing that unites us all in the FCT is our resentment of the minister.

“It’s not just about development, it’s about treating us with levity, treating us with disregard.

Wike not distracted by Kingibe’s shameless diatribes —Aide

Reacting, Senior Special Assistant on Public Communication and Social Media to the Federal Capital Territory, FCT, Minister, Nyesom Wike, Mr  Lere Olayinka, tackled Senator  Kingibe, saying the minister would not be distracted by the political shenanigans of the senator.

Olayinka in a statement, asked Kingibe to stop being shameless and pay attention to the welfare of her legislative aides, many of whom, he alleged, had left as a result of non-payment of their salary and entitlements for as much as six months.

“The FCT minister will not be available to be used as a launchpad for Senator Ireti Kingibe’s dying political career,” Olayinka said.

According to him, Kingibe had said on a television programme that the FCT minister was out of touch with the needs of the people, declaring that “it is not just about development, Wike’s conduct is fuelling resentment among the FCT people.”

However, Olayinka said it was funny that Senator Kingibe, “who treats her personal aides like slaves and has refused to pay them their wages is the one talking about someone treating others with disregard.”

He said:  “As of today, we know how many of Senator Ireti Kingibe’s aides who have resigned owing to non-payment of their salaries.

“Senator Ireti Kingibe should tell the people of FCT what she did with the ‘envelop of N3 billion’ that was awarded her last year.

“As for the FCT Minister, Nyesom Wike, he will not be distracted by someone like Senator Ireti Kingibe, who has no other credible identity to present herself with, except the name of someone she is no longer married to.”