The lawmaker representing the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) in the National Assembly, Senator Ireti Kingibe, has criticised the FCT Minister, Nyesom Wike, accusing him of exhibiting an “emperor mentality” and failing to prioritise the welfare of Abuja residents.
Speaking during an interview on Channels Television’s Political Paradigm programme aired on Tuesday, Kingibe expressed frustration over Wike’s leadership style, saying the minister does not consult her on key decisions, including the budget process.
The Labour Party senator stated bluntly, “The FCT minister has not made the lives of the people better.”
Naijaonpoint reports that Kingibe alleged that Wike has failed to pay salaries of certain workers and accused him of sidelining her from governance issues in the FCT.
She claimed, “He’s owing salaries and doesn’t carry me along in the budget process for the city. In the last few months, I gave it some thought and said at the end of the day, all I want is my people to benefit.”
The lawmaker said she had tried to adopt a less confrontational stance to encourage collaboration for the benefit of FCT residents, but claimed her restraint had yielded no positive results.
She said, “If being less antagonistic to the minister would help bring development to the people, then fine. So, I decided that in spite of the things that I don’t like that he is doing, I will minimise my public criticisms of him.
“But it’s not made any difference because he has an emperor mentality.”