Why we shouted at each other on phone, Kingibe speaks on clash with Wike

Tension within the political leadership of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) has spilled into the open as Senator Ireti Kingibe disclosed details of a heated exchange with FCT Minister, Nyesom Wike, over governance issues in Abuja.

The senator representing the FCT said the confrontation became so intense that Senate President Godswill Akpabio had to intervene through a three-way telephone call to calm frayed nerves.

Speaking during an interview on Channels Television, Kingibe described the clash as the peak of mounting frustration over what she termed a breakdown in communication between her office and that of the minister.

At the heart of the dispute was the curfew imposed ahead of the FCT area council elections.

Kingibe said the decision created hardship for residents and was taken without adequate consultation.

According to her, she repeatedly tried to reach the minister by phone to express concerns about the directive.

When he eventually answered, she said, tempers flared.

“We yelled at each other for a few minutes,” she said, explaining that the conversation ended abruptly before the Senate President facilitated a reconciliation call.

She also alleged a pattern of exclusion.

She said she had written several letters expressing her readiness to work with the minister for the good of the capital territory, but claimed her overtures had not been reciprocated.

She also said that governance of the FCT requires synergy between elected and appointed officials, not unilateral decisions.

Kingibe accused the minister of sidelining stakeholders and running the territory based on personal discretion rather than broad consultation.

She said, “The truth is that this whole curfew is a great inconvenience to the people of the FCT. I have his (Wike) phone number. I have called him before. He did not answer, and I kept calling till he picked up the phone. He proceeded to yell at me.

“We yelled at each other for a few minutes, and we put the phone down. Then the senate president intervened, did a three-way call, and we resolved the issue.

“Because for me, that issue was urgent. I was determined that he was going to respond to my call. I told him I was going to come and see him in the office. He said, ‘no, don’t come’. That was the conversation, as if I was going to harm him.

“I am only about governance. We can see the letters I have written to the minister. All of the letters telling him I’m willing to work with him.

“The minister is not willing to work with anybody. He is not willing to work with the FCDA people. The minister thinks governance is about what he alone thinks and what he alone wants”, Kingibe said.

The friction between both figures is not new.

Since the 2023 elections, the relationship between the FCT senator and the minister has been marked by sharp public disagreements and pointed criticism.

In previous remarks, Kingibe questioned the minister’s leadership approach, while Wike had openly vowed to challenge her political future.

Kimgibe’s revelation, however, offered a rare glimpse into the intensity of their private exchanges.

The latest disclosure raises fresh concerns about coordination at the heart of Nigeria’s capital administration.

With residents watching closely, political observers say effective governance in the FCT will depend less on personal rivalry and more on institutional cooperation.

For now, the uneasy truce brokered by the Senate President may have resolved a single phone confrontation.

Whether it signals a reset in the working relationship between the senator and the minister remains uncertain.