By our reporter
Tough talk came from the Senator representing Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Ireti Kingibe, as she said that the majority ordinary people of the territory will deal with FCT Minister, Nyesom Wike, in the February 21, 2026 Area Council poll in the nation’s capital.
Senator Kingibe, who has a no love lost relationship with the Minister, warned him that the grassroots government tier election will be a referendum on his style of administering the FCT.
While Kingibe belongs to Labour Party (LP), the Minister is of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) but serves under the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC).
Kingibe spoke during an interview on Channels TV’s Political Paradigm programme.
The Senator claimed that Wike does not understand the needs of the people, adding that he is not meeting their needs.
Senator Kingibe said: “The truth is that the people of the FCT resent Wike.
“They are not happy with his attitude and his failure to meet their needs.
“The people will show him who owns the FCT during the council polls.”
FCT’s six Area Councils are Abuja Municipal (AMAC), Kuje, Gwagwalada, Kwali, Bwari and Abaji.
Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has already notified the public of the election and spelt out certain guidelines for conduct of the poll.
For instance, INEC stated that the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) will be used for the exercise, insisting that only eligible persons with Permanent Voter’s Card (PVC) will vote.
Furthermore, the electoral umpire requested all potential voters to perform the civic responsibility at the polling units where they were registered, warning that only persons whose names appear on the voters’ register and possess valid PVC would be allowed to vote.
The political animosity between the Minister and the Senator is public knowledge.
Not long ago, Wike vowed to “fail” Senator Kingibe’s interests in the forthcoming Area Council poll -a threat many interpreted to be a reaction to her criticisms of his elitist development policies.
It is noteworthy that,in the past, the FCT had produced several Ministers who were of different political parties from those of the then-serving senators.
An example is the immediate past senator of the FCT, Philip Tanimu Aduda, who was elected on three consecutive terms of 12 years on the platform of PDP even as then-President Muhammadu Buhari and his FCT Ministers belonged to the All Progressives Congress (APC).
Also, at a point before 2015 when the PDP fell from national power, the FCT had produced senators from the then All Nigeria People’s Party (ANPP) in Senator Jubril Wowo and others.
