Wike: Senate tackles Kingibe, demands evidence of unapproved FCT loans

Amid the furore over allegations by the Senator representing the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Senator Ireti Kingibe, that the FCT Minister, Mr Nyesom Wike, has been obtaining loans without the approval of the National Assembly, the Senate has challenged her to provide evidence to support her claims.

The Red Chamber said no such unapproved facility existed to its knowledge, accusing Kingibe of attempting to heat up the polity with unsubstantiated allegations.

“No such thing ever happened. It doesn’t exist,” the Chairman of the Senate Committee on Media and Public Affairs, Senator Yemi Adaramodu, stated on Thursday while responding to inquiries by the Nigerian Tribune.

Kingibe, while granting a television interview earlier in the week, had alleged that Wike had sourced loans since assuming office in 2023, specifically mentioning 2023 and 2026.

However, she said the minister did not seek the approval of the National Assembly before obtaining and utilising the facilities he reportedly sourced from creditors.

Kingibe did not provide details of the loans but insisted that Wike had sourced them.

“I am definitely saying Wike has been taking loans without the approval of the National Assembly.

“I’m sorry to say, with all due respect to the Senate, of which I’m a member, we’re supposed to oversee him.

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“We’re supposed to approve, and I have brought to the attention of the leadership of the Senate that the FCT is borrowing money,” the senator alleged.

However, Adaramodu expressed surprise at how the FCT, which had not submitted any proposals to the Senate on budget shortfalls, could be accused of taking illegal loans.

“What is the nature of the loans? Are they local loans or international loans?” he asked.

The Senate spokesman further stated that the legislature had been performing its constitutional duties of overseeing other arms of government without compromising its position.

“The National Assembly has been forthcoming in her oversight functions over the other arms of government, as statutorily provided by the Constitution,” he added.

He noted that where a lawmaker had any information exclusive to them, the normal parliamentary channel was to raise it through a motion on the floor to bring it to the attention of colleagues for proper treatment, “which in this case, the senator hasn’t done so to our knowledge.”

Adaramodu went on: “If any legislator has any issue with the functions of any organ or department of government, such must be raised through the relevant committee or on the floor of either of the chambers.

“The National Assembly is not a secretariat of any political party. We owe our legitimacy to the Nigerian people; hence, our oversight assignments are for the welfare of the public, including the Federal Capital Territory, which we exclusively legislate for.”