FOR keen watchers of the Nigerian political landscape, the recent outburst by Nyesom Wike, minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), to unseat Ireti Kingibe, the senator representing the nation’s capital, in 2027 is hardly surprising. The reason for this is not far-fetched; the ex-governor of the oil-rich Rivers States is someone who courts controversies like the moth to the naked light.
The story of the supremacy battle between Wike and his estranged godfather, Rotimi Amaechi, who served as governor of Rivers State from 2007 to 2015 cannot be forgotten in a hurry. Wike served him as a chief of staff, after which Amaechi nominated him for appointment as a minister under President Goodluck Jonathan.
However, the two politicians, who hail from the same Ikwere ethnic nationality, fell out after Ameachi defected to the APC and supported Muhammadu Buhari for president in 2015, while Wike, a governorship candidate of the PDP then, supported Jonathan’s re-election bid. Wike later won the 2015 governorship election against Amaechi’s preferred successor, Dakuku Peterside.
In the build up to the last general elections, Wike was engaged in another political battle with the PDP presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar, for refusing to pressure the ousted PDP National Chairman, Iyorchia Ayu, to relinquish his position for the sake of a “regional balance”.
With another supremacy battle to control the FCT ahead 2027, coming at a time when the dust raised by the power tussle between him and the Rivers State governor, Siminalayi Fubara, is yet to settle, the question is being raised as to how Wike would remain focused on his current mandate in the nation’s capital.
The ICIR reports that in the run-up to the 2023 general elections, the relationship between Wike and Fubara, who was the state accountant-general then, was like that of the proverbial palm oil and salt.
Even against the wishes of many party bigwigs and faithful in the state, who argued that Fubara was a political underdog and should not have been given the plum job, Wike did everything to ensure that he anointed a loyal successor, which he found in Fubara.
How things fell apart
However, no sooner had the footsteps of Wike and Fabura’s supporters who trooped in to congratulate the latter after his inauguration faded away than the relationship between them went awry.
Even though things had started going on smoothly within the first few months between the duo, things started falling apart.
Visible within the cracked wall was the ex-governor ensuring that four commissioners; works, education, justice, and finance, who worked under him, were reappointed and assigned the same portfolios by his successor.

While subsequent appointments of commissioners were reportedly determined by Wike, Fabura was limited to appointing special advisers and aides, even as major decisions were subjected to the express approval of his predecessor.
In an apparent move to assert his independence Fubara resorted to relating his travails to some top politicians, including known political foes of his predecessor. This was followed with private visits to Governor Douye Diri of Bayelsa State in Yenagoa, and his Edo counterpart, Godwin Obaseki in Benin.
Also, against his godfather’s advice, Fubara was said to have started attending PDP stakeholders’ meetings outside the state, where he interacted with bigwigs, a development that Wike found confrontational.
Impeachment option
The result was the commencement of the moves to unseat the governor, who was barely six months in office, by the state Assembly, led by Wike’s kinsman from Obio/Akpor Local Government Area, Martin Amaewhule.
Even though the impeachment plot failed Wike had alleged that there was an attempt by Fubara to change the leadership of the state legislature and install one loyal to him in an effort to start building his political structure as a sitting state chief executive.
While the stage was set for 27 members of the state assembly loyal to the FCT minister to execute their plan, the night before the planned impeachment proceeding, precisely on October 30, 2023, an explosion rocked the state Assembly complex and destroyed the hallowed chamber.
The recrimination between Wike and Fabura further escalated even after the peace deal facilitated by President Bola Tinubu as the political godfather and his estranged son intensified strategies to strengthen their respective support bases in the state.
Another supremacy battle?
Although the FCT minister has said he is not distracted by the political crisis in Rivers State, and that he remains focused on his duty as minister, tongues have started wagging over his recent threat to unseat Senator Ireti Kingibe in 2027.
Wike who spoke in Abuja on Monday, June 1, 2024 at the flag-off ceremony of the construction of the Mabushi bus terminal, said: “If we have done well, we have done well. If we haven’t done well, we haven’t done well. I am proud to say that in the short time that President Tinubu has appointed us, we have done well.
In a veiled reference to Ireti Kingibe, the current senator representing the FCT, Wike said: “You said there are no schools and hospitals. You, as a legislator, what have you done? How many bills have you sponsored for us to improve our education and health sectors?
“I challenge that legislator. If you are very popular, in 2027, come and run under Abuja; we will fail you.
“You think that what happened last time will happen again? It will not happen again. If you are popular, come and run. Luckily for me, I am the FCT minister now. So, here is my territory, and I am not afraid.
“People should be able to accept the truth. We are not begging for anybody to be our friend. We have so many friends that we cannot even carry them along. So, how can we go and beg people to be our friends? We are not interested in that.”
The ICIR reports that Kingibe, a member of the Labour Party (LP), defeated Philip Aduda of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the 2023 general election to takeover as the current senator in the FCT.
Aduda, an ally of Wike, was a senator from 2011 to 2023.
Kingibe and Wike have not had a cordial working relationship since they assumed their respective offices as the former had repeatedly accused the latter of sidelining her, despite being the senator representing the FCT.
On various occasions both politicians have lashed out at each other with Wike maintaining that senator Kingibe’s anger stemmed from his constant companionship with her predecessor, Aduda, and because she was not appointed as the senate chairperson of the committee on FCT.
The ICIR reports that in September 2023, Kingibe said Wike lacked the executive powers to make threats of demolition of “illegal buildings” in the federal capital territory.
Similarly, the lawmaker claimed earlier in January that Wike had failed to respond to her letters and messages amid rising insecurity in Abuja.
The senator also claimed that Wike did not have the interest of the FCT at heart, claiming that residents were battling water scarcity amid other challenges.
Not a few Nigerians have reacted to the threat by Wike, to unseat the FCT lawmaker for criticising his performance.
A former leader of the G-5 governors, Wike is a member of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) but serving in the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), while Kingibe belongs to the Labour Party (LP), a major opposition candidate.
Reacting to Wike’s threat, Moses Paul of the Free Nigeria Movement in a post on X described the minister’s action as ‘disgraceful’.
“It is a tragic reality that in Africa, particularly in Nigeria, public officials misappropriate government funds for trivial projects and then tout them as achievements. A perfect example is the recent use of public funds to merely paint streets, which is then egregiously touted as a remarkable accomplishment.
“This is the evidence of how entrenched corruption, impunity and mismanagement have become in our society,” he tweeted.
He said Kingibe’s stance on Wike’s performance highlighted the importance of prioritising critical sectors and ensuring that public funds are used effectively and efficiently, rather than being squandered on superficial projects and political grandstanding.
‘Sheath your swords, work together’
Responding to the threat by the FCT minister, Nana Kazaure, an ex- aide to Senator Kingibe, said Wike cannot speak for the people of Abuja, stressing that the federal capital territory was not the same as Rivers state.
Nana, a former spokesperson of the Obi/Datti presidential campaign team, however, advised Wike and Kingibe to sheath their swords, put their differences aside and work for the common good of the people of the FCT.
“Minister Wike was appointed to serve the people of the FCT, Senator Kingibe was elected to serve the people of the FCT. They should stop playing like children and think about the greater good of the people of the FCT.
“We are in the FCT and there are places without basic running water; places where children trek eight kilometres to and from school. Therefore, sheath your swords, come to the drawing board and work together,” she said.
Fidelis Mac-Leva is the Deputy Editor of The ICIR/Head of Investigation. He has previously worked with several media outfits in Nigeria, including DAILY TIMES and DAILY TRUST. A compellingly readable Features writer, his forte is Public Interest Journalism which enables him to "comfort the afflicted and afflict the comforted..." He can be reached via fmacleva@icirnigeria.org, @FidelisLeva on X