Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, made it clear to Senator Ireti Kingibe that he cannot be pressured into forming a friendship with her.
Wike criticized the Senator for resorting to blackmail instead of approaching him through appropriate channels or concentrating on her legislative duties.
During an interview in Abuja, Nyesom Wike expressed his frustration with Kingibe, claiming that she was upset because she was overlooked for the position of Senate Committee on FCT due to the Senate President’s decision.
“I don’t want to be personal…she’s the Senator for FCT. She went around saying ‘oh, oh Wike is busy scraping roads…I should leave the roads till when the potholes come?” Wike said.
“Somebody wants to be your friend and you say ‘I don’t want to be your friend. Is it by force?’ The problem is that she wanted to be Chairman, Senate Committee on FCT and the Senate President said ‘I’m not giving you’.
‘What are you going to supervise me? You cannot supervise me. What is her interest, that I must see her? If I have a problem I’ll go and see her. I don’t have a problem. Nobody can intimidate me. Look, I was a Minister before. I became a governor of one of the most important states in Nigeria and she thinks that the only way you can bring me is to go to Channel, TVC, saying the Minister is not carrying me along.
“I don’t have the back to carry. It’s not about blackmailing. Do the right thing. You know her problem? She ran election with my friend Philip Aduda and she sees me taking Philip everywhere instead of her being the Senator. Should I abandon my friend because she failed election?” Wike queried.
