Ireti Kingibe: The Female Politician Who Retired Senator Philip Aduda

Year 2023 will ever remain the year that many political things changed in Nigeria, the year that new branches grew on the giant tree of political power and bore fruits that very few minds could conceive. Ireti Kingibe, the woman in line to be the Senator of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Abuja, is one such power branch. With so much working for her, it is not altogether surprising that she came at this time to retire one of the toughest political nuts to crack in Nigeria.

For as long as some residents of Abuja can remember, Senator Philips Tanimu Aduda of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has been the figure representing them at the House of Senate. With the man’s experience and prestige, even the eight-year reign of the opposing political party, the All Progressives Congress (APC) could not uproot him for this senatorial position in the nation’s capital city. But this is a new era and the new has come to replace the old.

Kingibe is the new branch in this narrative. During the 2023 election, she surprisingly overwhelmed Senator Aduda and others with her victory. Even though some analysts insist that she rode on the coattails of the Labour Party (LP) presidential candidate, Peter Obi, the fact remains that the woman is a giant unto herself

Many of her critics forget that Kingibe is not only a politician but also a civil engineer who has been in the thick of corporate things since the late ‘70s and of political things in the early ‘90s. Specifically, she has flown her aspiration for the FCT senatorial position under multiple flags, including that of the PDP and APC. However, it was not meant to be. It was under LP that she was able to push her mandate to the people and convince them that she has what it takes to represent them in the Senate.

Thus, there is much more to Kingibe than her being a woman or a member of LP. Neither of these attributes is enough to obtain the allegiance of FCT residents and push out Aduda who has been there since 2011.