Senator representing the Federal Capital Territory, FCT, Ireti Kingibe, has accused FCT Minister Nyesom Wike of obtaining loans for the nation’s capital without securing approval from the National Assembly.
Kingibe made the allegation during an appearance on Channels Television’s Political Paradigm, saying records from the Debt Management Office, DMO, showed borrowings involving the FCT between August 2023 and March 2026, but that she had not seen Wike appear before the Senate to seek approval for the loans.
The senator said she had raised the matter with the leadership of the Senate, stressing that lawmakers have an oversight responsibility over the administration of the FCT.
“I am definitely saying he has been taking loans without the approval of the National Assembly. I don’t know about the House, but certainly not the Senate,” Kingibe said.
She explained that the FCT’s budget is ordinarily presented to the National Assembly through the relevant committee before it is considered and approved by lawmakers. According to her, she had not seen a similar process followed for the borrowings she identified.
“I have never seen Wike come to the National Assembly and before the Senate to ask for approval of anything,” she said.
Kingibe said her position was based on information obtained from DMO records covering the period from August 2023 to March 2026.
She challenged anyone disputing her claim to produce the parliamentary records showing that the minister had sought and obtained legislative approval for the loans.
“If anybody contradicts me, they should bring the Votes and Proceedings of the day that Wike came to the National Assembly to ask for approval for anything,” she said.
The allegation comes amid a significant increase in the FCT’s domestic debt during Wike’s tenure, which began in August 2023.
According to the DMO’s latest sub-national debt data, the FCT’s domestic debt stood at N389.88 billion as of March 31, 2026, up from N188.86 billion at the end of December 2025. The N201.02 billion increase in three months represented a rise of about 106 per cent.
The FCT’s domestic debt had stood at N88.51 billion in September 2023, meaning the debt stock increased by about N301.37 billion between September 2023 and March 2026.
However, the DMO figures show changes in the FCT’s debt stock and do not, by themselves, establish whether individual loans were obtained with or without the required approvals.
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The FCT is constitutionally treated as if it were one of Nigeria’s states, with legislative powers vested in the National Assembly and executive powers vested in the President. The President may appoint a minister for the territory to exercise functions delegated to him.
Nigeria’s Fiscal Responsibility Act provides that government borrowing for capital expenditure and human development is subject to approval by the appropriate legislative body where necessary. The law also requires National Assembly approval for federal borrowing from the capital market.
The DMO’s revised borrowing guidelines further state that an FCT loan request from a bank or financial institution should include a resolution of the National Assembly, alongside approval of the FCT Executive Committee and the relevant appropriation or other law authorizing the borrowing.
Kingibe argued that the constitutional position of the FCT means Wike, as the minister administering the territory, cannot exercise powers beyond those delegated by President Bola Tinubu.
She noted that the President routinely presents requests for loans and appointments to the National Assembly for consideration, questioning why the minister should be able to undertake borrowing without a similar legislative process.
Wike, through his Senior Special Assistant on Public Communication and Social Media, Lere Olayinka, rejected Kingibe’s allegation.
Olayinka told The ICIR that there was no transaction undertaken by the FCT without the approval of the appropriate authorities. He challenged journalists to verify Kingibe’s claim with the relevant National Assembly committees.
“She’s not a member of Senate Committee on FCT. There’s nothing the FCT has done that is not approved by those who should approve,” Olayinka said.
He also argued that borrowing by the FCT is not a matter handled directly between the minister and the National Assembly, maintaining that the President is responsible for presenting the FCT budget to the legislature.
When asked about the DMO guideline requiring a National Assembly resolution as part of an FCT loan request, Olayinka maintained that the FCT had not undertaken any transaction without the necessary approvals.
He attributed the increase in the FCT’s debt to the scale of infrastructure and development activities under the Wike administration, arguing that the territory previously borrowed less because there were fewer major projects requiring financing.
The dispute therefore centres not on whether the FCT’s debt stock has increased — DMO data confirms that it has — but on whether the borrowings behind the increase were subjected to the approvals required by law.
Kingibe has called for parliamentary records to establish whether such approvals were obtained, while the FCT administration maintains that all necessary approvals were secured.
As of Wednesday, no public record establishing the specific loan transactions and their respective approval processes had been produced in response to the senator’s challenge.
ICIR Nigeria
