Senator representing the Federal Capital Territory, Ireti Kingibe, has alleged that FCT Minister Nyesom Wike has been obtaining loans for the territory without seeking the approval of the Senate, challenging anyone disputing her claim to produce legislative records showing otherwise.

Kingibe made the allegation during an appearance on Channels Television’s Political Paradigm, where she said she had raised concerns with the leadership of the Senate over borrowings undertaken by the FCT administration.

According to the senator, while the annual FCT budget is ordinarily transmitted to the National Assembly and considered through the relevant committees before approval, she is unaware of any occasion on which Wike appeared before the Senate to seek authorisation for loans.

“I have never seen Wike come to the National Assembly and before the Senate to ask for approval of anything,” Kingibe said.

She went further to state categorically that, as far as the Senate was concerned, the minister had not obtained legislative approval for the borrowings she identified.

“I am definitely saying he has been taking loans without the approval of the National Assembly. I don’t know about the House, but certainly not the Senate,” she said.

Kingibe explained that she became aware of the borrowings after examining information from the Debt Management Office, which she said covered loans obtained between August 2023 and March 2026.

The senator maintained that if the loans had received Senate approval, there should be an official parliamentary record showing when the request was presented, considered and approved.

“If anybody contradicts me, they should bring the Votes and Proceedings of the day that Wike came to the National Assembly to ask for approval for anything,” she said.

Kingibe also drew a comparison between Wike’s exercise of authority as FCT Minister and that of President Bola Tinubu, arguing that the minister derives his powers from the President and therefore cannot exercise greater powers than the President himself.

She noted that Tinubu routinely forwards requests involving borrowings and appointments requiring legislative approval to the National Assembly.

According to her, if the President submits borrowing requests to the legislature for consideration, an FCT Minister acting under presidential authority should not be able to bypass a similar legislative process where approval is legally required.

Kingibe said she had already brought her concerns to the attention of the Senate leadership, insisting that the issue goes beyond her long-running political disagreements with the FCT Minister and concerns legislative oversight of public borrowing.

Her allegations raise questions over the approval process for borrowings by the FCT Administration and the extent of the National Assembly’s constitutional and statutory oversight of the territory’s finances.

However, Kingibe specifically acknowledged that she could only speak definitively about the Senate, saying she did not know whether any related approval had been sought or obtained from the House of Representatives.

The senator’s claims were based on her interpretation of DMO records and the absence, according to her, of Senate Votes and Proceedings showing Wike appearing to seek approval.

No response from Wike or the FCT Administration to the latest allegations was contained in the material available.

Kingibe consequently placed the burden on those disputing her position to produce the relevant legislative documentation, insisting that until such records are shown, her position remains that the FCT Minister’s identified borrowings were undertaken without Senate approval.

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