File: House of Representatives
The House of Representatives has dismissed claims that the minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, secured loans for the FCT without obtaining the approval of the National Assembly.
Deputy Spokesperson of the House, Philip Agbese, said there was no evidence that Wike violated any law or circumvented established procedures in financing infrastructure projects and programmes in the nation’s capital.
Agbese, a Labour Party lawmaker representing Benue State, made the clarification while speaking with journalists in Abuja on Thursday.
His comments followed allegations by Senator Ireti Kingibe, who represents the Federal Capital Territory in the National Assembly, that the FCT Administration had accumulated debts without securing the necessary legislative approvals.
Kingibe had said she raised the issue with the Senate leadership after examining information obtained from the Debt Management Office covering the period from August 2023 to March 2026.
Speaking on Channels Television, the senator said she had not seen Wike appear before the Senate to seek approval for any loan.
“I have never seen Wike come to the National Assembly and before the Senate to ask for approval of anything,” Kingibe said.
She explained that FCT budgets were submitted through the relevant Senate committee before being considered and approved by the chamber, adding that her concerns over the territory’s debt profile were based on information contained in DMO documents.
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But Agbese rejected the suggestion that Wike had borrowed funds behind the National Assembly or acted outside the law.
“Wike has committed no infraction in borrowings. There is no basis for the allegation that he has been borrowing money behind the back of the National Assembly,” he said.
The lawmaker explained that public borrowing was subject to constitutional, statutory and administrative processes involving relevant government institutions, stressing that the FCT minister could not unilaterally create a sovereign borrowing obligation.
The Green And Red Press