The minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, has berated the senator representing the FCT, Ireti Kingibe, over her comments on the recent council election, insisting that elections are a process and not a one-day event.
Wike has insisted that elections are a process rather than a one-day event.
The former governor of Rivers State emphasized that voters alone decide the FCT’s election results during a media conference in Abuja on Monday.
Wike noted that preparations for any election start well before the day of voting, so the survey from February 21 shouldn’t be taken at face value.
“It’s a process that starts from the nomination of candidates. It’s a process that goes through a campaign before it gets to an election. So election is not just that particular date of voting,” he said.
He compared the electoral process to preparing for an examination, stressing that serious contenders do not wait until the last minute.
“You are going to school; you know the exam will come, and the exam will be in two or three months’ time. Nobody waits for the exam to come before they know that you are prepared for the exam. So it’s a process. You must attend classes. You must read to be prepared for the exam,” he said.
The former Rivers State governor added that those who fail to prepare often look for excuses, saying that “that is why you see students who are not prepared for exams; when they see an opportunity, they will search for a strike. They will call for a strike, so they are not allowed to write the exam.”
He recalled that some political parties had earlier suggested that the February 21 council election would shape the outcome of the 2027 general election.
“Remember, some parties have said that the election of the 21st of February would determine the election of 2027,” he said.
He also mentioned a statement reportedly made by Kingibe, stating she had promised to use the local government election to “teach me a lesson.”
“Remember, the senator that represents FCT has said that they will use the local government election to teach me a lesson, that FCT is not Rivers State,” Wike told the audience.
In response to charges that he announced a curfew, Wike denied the claim and accused the senator of distorting his statements.
“That’s why we have to be careful. The minute the senator said so, I knew she didn’t read. If you heard my speech, I said, ‘by the approval of Mr. President’,” he said.
According to him, the decision he referred to was approved by the president and granted people a work-free day so they could travel to their regions of origin without being late.
“By the approval of Mr. President, who has asked people to go back to their areas where they come from and has given them a work-free day so that you don’t go back late—that’s against Saturday. By the approval of Mr. President. I never declared any curfew,” he said.
Wike stressed that, as a minister representing the president, he acts based on available security intelligence.
“As a minister who represents Mr. President, the security reports I have, they do not have it,” he added.
