Senator Ireti Kingibe, who represents the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), expressed her hope that FCT Minister Nyesom Wike could avert any violence, especially within the FCT, and praised the possibility of achieving this without bloodshed. Regarding her exclusion from a recent meeting between the FCT minister and traditional rulers about the upcoming protest, she seemed unconcerned.
She asserted that her legitimacy as an elected representative remains unchanged, regardless of the traditional rulers’ stance or their involvement in the meeting. She suggested that the traditional rulers are under pressure from Wike, who can influence their actions through financial or authoritative means, implying that their attendance does not necessarily represent their true opinions.
She said in an interview with Channels TV, ”I have more support than Wike has with the people. And since everything that has been happening between us, I have never responded to him. It is the people that have responded to him. So if there is no connection between us, they will not be responding to him.”
When asked why she was not included in the recent meeting between the FCT minister and the traditional rulers regarding the upcoming protest, she responded, “It doesn’t matter whether I was invited or not. I am still the elected representative of the people. The traditional rulers do not have the authority to refuse Wike. If he calls them, they will always comply.”
“If I put a gun to your head to do something, you will do it. Wike has the power to remove them, pay them, or withhold their pay. He can call them a hundred times, and they will come, but that doesn’t reflect their true opinions. Regarding the protest, if he (Wike) can stop it without bloodshed in the FCT, then kudos to him,” she said.
NGI 
SKJ 
NewsGlobal Reporters