FCT Minister Nyesom Wike has criticised Senator Ireti Kingibe over her calls for greater cooperation between her office and the Federal Capital Territory Administration in tackling flooding and other development challenges in Abuja.
Wike spoke on Tuesday during an inspection of flood-affected areas in Maitama, where he ordered the demolition of structures found to be obstructing designated waterways.
Responding to Kingibe’s call for closer collaboration, Wike said he was not appointed to work with one individual but with all stakeholders in the FCT.
“If she knows that there’s a problem, she’s the one who makes the law. National Assembly is our own House of Assembly. Why should she every time, ‘working with her, working with her, working with her’?” Wike asked.
“I was not appointed to work with only one particular person. I work with everybody.”
The minister accused the senator of focusing too much on media appearances instead of using her position in the National Assembly to sponsor legislation and push for solutions to problems affecting Abuja residents.
He challenged Kingibe to point to bills or legislative initiatives she had sponsored to address flooding and other challenges in the FCT.
“Go and talk to the people! Tell them what you are doing in the National Assembly! Tell them the bill you have proposed for the benefit of the residents of Abuja,” he said.
Wike said elected legislators should demonstrate their impact through debates, legislation and direct engagement with their constituents.
“As a legislator, for example, I represent the people. They must see you talk on the floor as per their own interest. They must see you propose a bill that will enable them to survive,” he added.
The minister also linked Kingibe’s criticism to the approaching election, claiming that the senator was seeking to regain public support after losing ground politically.
“I don’t blame her now, because she has almost lost the election. All she’s doing next is to see whether she can get the people,” Wike said.
He maintained that criticism would not deter the FCT Administration from enforcing planning and environmental regulations, insisting that residents had already judged Kingibe’s performance.
“You have done nothing, and the people know you have done nothing. Even if you like, criticise. As far as this flooding is concerned, the people have made up their mind that you failed,” he said.
Wike also rejected allegations that the FCT Administration had allocated designated waterways to politicians for the construction of estates.
He challenged those making the allegations to identify specific waterways allegedly allocated to named individuals and produce documentary evidence.
“I want to deny categorically that this administration allocates water channel way for people to go and develop,” he said.
According to him, determining what constitutes a designated waterway requires reference to the Abuja Master Plan, adding that critics could not unilaterally determine which areas were classified as water channels.
“You cannot determine which area is a water channel to FCT. You cannot determine for us! You don’t know the master plan more than us!” he said.
Wike further challenged critics to provide evidence of any water channel allegedly allocated to a politician.
“If anybody has one, come out with it to prove to Nigerians, ‘This is a water channel way, and it has been allocated to Mr. Z, and approved for Mr. Z to build something,’” he said.
The minister also argued that flooding in parts of Abuja was not a recent phenomenon, citing areas such as Lokogoma and Yakubu Gowon Crescent, where flooding has occurred repeatedly over the years.
“Lokogoma flooding has been happening there year to year; it’s been happening,” he said.
He recalled that Yakubu Gowon Crescent had also experienced repeated flooding despite being constructed by Julius Berger.
“Each time, it floods. People will shut their eyes and say that the flooding started yesterday on that road,” Wike said.
The FCT minister urged residents and political actors to offer constructive criticism rather than using flooding as a political weapon ahead of elections.
“Please, do us well and do the nation well by giving positive criticism, not political criticism that you think will help you to win an election that you cannot win,” he said.
Wike insisted that the FCT Administration would continue demolishing structures found to be obstructing waterways, regardless of the political affiliation or status of their owners.
He also warned against portraying the enforcement exercise as an attempt to target political opponents.
“So, I hope now that we have started to demolish, you won’t cry to say, ‘Oh, it’s against a political opponent,’” he said.
“If you are my political opponent, did I say you should go and block the water channel? I didn’t tell you to go and block the water channel.”
The minister said the administration remained open to genuine observations from residents and stakeholders who draw attention to problems requiring government intervention.
He reiterated that the FCT Administration would continue enforcing planning regulations and addressing environmental challenges across Abuja, maintaining that political considerations would not determine its actions.