How Akpabio intervened after Wike and I yelled at each other during a phone call - Ireti Kingibe

Ireti Kingibe, senator representing the Federal CapitalTerritory (FCT), says Nyesom Wike, the FCT minister, is not willing to workwith her for the governance of the country’s capital. Speaking during an interview on Channels Television onFriday, Kingibe said she has written several letters to Wike expressing herdesire to collaborate for the benefit of the FCT. Kingibe said the minister did not consult with anybodybefore imposing a curfew for Saturday’s area council elections in the FCT. The senator narrated how she once got into a yelling duelwith the minister after repeatedly trying to reach him via the telephone. Kingibe said it took the intervention of Senate PresidentGodswill Akpabio, through a three-way telephone call, before there was aresolution. “The truth is that this whole curfew is a greatinconvenience to the people of the FCT,” she said. “I have his(Wike) phone number. I have called him before. Hedid not answer, and I kept calling till he picked up the phone. He proceeded toyell at me. “We yelled at each other for a few minutes, and we put thephone down. Then the senate president intervened, did a three-way call, and weresolved the issue. “Because for me, that issue was urgent. I was determinedthat he was going to respond to my call. I told him I was going to come and seehim in the office. He said, ‘no, don’t come’. That was the conversation, as ifI was going to harm him. “I am only about governance. We can see the letters I havewritten to the minister. All of the letters telling him I’m willing to workwith him. “The minister is not willing to work with anybody. He is notwilling to work with the FCDA people. The minister thinks governance is aboutwhat he alone thinks and what he alone wants.” Kingibe and the minister have been at loggerheads since the2023 elections, often resorting to a media war of words. In July 2025, Kingibe said President Bola Tinubu’s greatestpolitical blunder was appointing Wike as minister. The senator had said Wike’s leadership style is autocraticand marked by “total disregard for the constitution”. In turn, Wike has pledged to ensure that the senator losesher re-election bid in 2027.

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