The Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, has fired back at Senator Ireti Kingibe in a dramatic rebuttal over her comments on the restriction of movement during the recently concluded local council elections in Abuja.
In a fiery response, Wike accused the senator of attempting to undermine him politically.
“Recall that the senator representing the FCT said they would use the local government election to teach me a lesson — that the FCT is not Rivers State,” he said.
He argued that those who made such claims should have been fully prepared for the outcome.
Addressing allegations that he imposed a curfew, Wike dismissed the claim emphatically. “I heard the senator say I declared a curfew. I never did,” he stated.
In a stinging remark, he added, “Perhaps if she paid closer attention to official briefings instead of reading love magazines, she would have heard me clearly.”
Wike explained that the restriction of movement was approved by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, who declared a work-free day to allow residents travel safely to their area councils to vote without returning late.
“As a minister representing the President, I act based on security intelligence available to me — intelligence they do not have,” he said.
He maintained that he did not declare a curfew or public holiday but merely announced that movement would be restricted from 8 p.m. with presidential approval.
According to him, the decision was guided by intelligence reports aimed at preventing violence during the elections.
“This is not the first time such measures have been taken. We acted to ensure peace and security,” Wike concluded.
