Ireti Heebah Kingibe (born 2 June 1954) is a Nigerian civil engineer and politician. She was elected member of the senate representing the FCT in the 2023 Nigerian Senate elections under the Labour party.[1][2][3] She is a younger sister of Ajoke Muhammed, the wife of former Nigerian head of state Murtala Muhammed.[4][5][6]

Ireti Kingibe
Kingibe in a 2023 interview with Voice of America
Senator for FCT
Assumed office
13 June 2023
Preceded byPhilips Tanimu Aduda
Personal details
Born (1954-06-02) 2 June 1954 (age 70)
NationalityNigerian
Political partyLabour Party (2022–present)
Other political
affiliations
SpouseBaba Gana Kingibe
Relatives
Alma mater
Occupation
  • Politician
  • civil engineer

Early life and education

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Kingibe's education started at Emotan preparatory school 1966, after which she attended Queen's College Lagos between 1966- 1967 and Washington Irving High school between 1970 and 1973 for her secondary school education. She bagged a degree in Civil engineering from the University of Minnesota.[4] between 1975 and 1980[5][7][8]

Career

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Kingibe started her career as a Quality Control Engineer with Bradley Precast Concrete Inc. from 1978 to 1979. She then moved on to work with the Minnesota Department of Transportation Design unit, where she also worked as an engineer from 1979 and 1991. She returned to Nigeria for her one-year mandatory service year between 1981 and 1982. She was posted to work as a project Supervisor with the Nigerian Air Force base in Ikeja, Lagos.[4][5]

In 1982 she got to work with the New Nigeria Construction Company, Kaduna as a planning engineer. In 1985, she left New Nigeria Construction Company to work as a consultant for Belsam Limited.

Ireti then became the regional engineer for Lodigiani Nigeria Limited Lagos between 1990 and 1994.

She currently works as a senior Partner with Kelnic Associates, Abuja.[4][9]

Politics

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Kingibe's political career began in 1990 with her appointment as Adviser to the National Chairman of the defunct Social Democratic Party (SDP).[4]

In 2003 she was the FCT senatorial candidate for the All Nigeria People's party. She defected to the People's Democratic Party in 2006. However, in 2014 she joined the All Progressive Congress (APC), because she could not handle the politics in PDP.[10] In 2015 she ran for the senatorial seat under APC, but she later withdrew

Kingibe Joined Labour Party in 2022 and became their FCT Senatorial candidate for the 2023 Nigerian elections and won the elections.[4][11][12] Before the elections, she pledged her basic salary (if she should win) to a special fund to tackle infrastructural deficits in the rural communities within the nation's capital.[13]

She was named the chairman, Senate committee on women affairs of the 10th senate on 8 August 2023.[14][5]

Controversy

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On Tuesday, 28 February 2023, The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) declared Ireti Kingibe the winner of the Federal Capital Territory as announced by the returning officer Sanni Saka; the agent of other political parties did not agree to the authenticity of the results and decided not to sign the result sheet.[1] Kingibe held a press conference arguing that INEC had no basis for canceling an election she won and defeated the three-term Senator Philip Aduda. At the press conference, she claimed that opposition parties bribed electoral officers during the presidential and National assembly elections.[15] She also claimed that there was an alleged move to rig her out of the election and that the Gwarinpa collation Centre was attacked by thugs who destroyed the result sheets.[16][17][5]

References

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  1. ^ a b Report, Agency (28 February 2023). "Ireti Kingibe wins FCT Senate seat". Premium Times Nigeria. Retrieved 28 February 2023.
  2. ^ "FCT Senate seat: LP's Ireti Kingibe sacks Aduda - P.M. News". Retrieved 28 February 2023.
  3. ^ "Candidates - Voter - Validating the Office of the Electorate on Representation". www.voter.ng. Retrieved 25 June 2024.
  4. ^ a b c d e f "Ireti Kingibe: Biography, Education, Professional and Political Career, Marriage, Net Worth, and Controversy". NewsWireNGR. 22 February 2023. Retrieved 28 February 2023.
  5. ^ a b c d e scraft (15 March 2024). "Ireti Heebah Kingibe". StateCraft Inc. Retrieved 24 June 2024.
  6. ^ Isuwa, Sunday; Okojie, George; Onukwugha, Anayo; Okoye, Francis; Abimaje, Achor; Omole, Ayobami (31 March 2023). "How We Survived Rough Political Turf – Ireti, Adebule, Others". Retrieved 24 June 2024.
  7. ^ iretikingibefctsenate2019 (25 August 2018). "Ireti Heebah Kingibe". IRETI KINGIBE FOR FCT SENATE 2019. Retrieved 24 June 2024.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  8. ^ "Board Of Governors – WHITEINK". Retrieved 25 June 2024.
  9. ^ Onyedinefu, Godsgift (12 June 2024). "Ireti Kingibe, FCT lawmaker laments exclusion from key decisions at Senate". Businessday NG. Retrieved 25 June 2024.
  10. ^ "IRETI KINGIBE With Four More Years, Buhari Will Meet People's Expectations – THISDAYLIVE". www.thisdaylive.com. Retrieved 1 March 2023.
  11. ^ "LP's Ireti Kingibe Floors Aduda, Wins FCT Senatorial Seat – THISDAYLIVE". www.thisdaylive.com. Retrieved 28 February 2023.
  12. ^ Silas, Don (28 February 2023). "Election result: Labour Party's Ireti Kingibe wins FCT Senate seat". Daily Post Nigeria. Retrieved 28 February 2023.
  13. ^ Jannamike, Luminous (22 February 2023). "'I'm not interested in politics for money' Ireti Kingibe". Vanguard. Retrieved 28 February 2023.
  14. ^ "Lawan, Yari, Tambuwal, Oshiomhole, Sani Musa, Others Emerge Senate Committee Chairmen - THISDAYLIVE". www.thisdaylive.com. Retrieved 9 August 2023.
  15. ^ Olubajo, Oyindamola (28 February 2023). "Labour's Ireti Kingibe fumes as INEC cancels Bwari senatorial results to upend her lead". Peoples Gazette. Retrieved 28 February 2023.
  16. ^ Nwachukwu, John Owen (27 February 2023). "FCT: They are trying to rig me out - Labour Party's Ireti Kingibe cries out". Daily Post Nigeria. Retrieved 28 February 2023.
  17. ^ "#NigeriaDecides2023: There's plot to manipulate results in FCT, says LP's Ireti Kingibe". TheCable. 28 February 2023. Retrieved 28 February 2023.