Uju Kennedy-Ohanenye, the former Minister of Women Affairs, has stated that she has no regrets about her actions during her tenure in President Bola Tinubu’s administration, despite the controversies surrounding her time in office.
Speaking during an interview on Channels Television on Wednesday, Kennedy-Ohanenye, who was among five ministers sacked by President Tinubu in October, said she could not have acted differently from the way she did while in office.
“I’m not a witch to know why I was sacked, and I have decided not to think about it,” she said. “The important thing is that I have been sacked, and I have refocused on what I was doing before.”
Her time as minister was marked by notable controversies, including a threat to sue the United Nations (UN) for allegedly mismanaging funds meant for Nigeria. Responding to criticisms that she lacked diplomacy in handling certain issues, Kennedy-Ohanenye said her role required addressing sensitive cases involving human sympathy, which left little room for diplomacy.
“Being a minister of women affairs as at that time, I was handling sensitive cases,” she explained. “You can be in the office, and they will show you a girl who was raped. You will see the substance from the man in her. I wonder what you expect me to do.”
She dismissed claims that her hands-on approach was unbecoming of a minister, emphasizing that her focus was on serving the people rather than portraying an image of authority.
“Some of them said, ‘she does not carry herself as a minister. She goes to the police station herself. Why can’t she be in her office and call the IGP?’ I’m sorry for some people, the way they think. As a minister, you are supposed to be a servant; you listen to the people and respond quickly before things go wrong.”
Kennedy-Ohanenye reiterated her commitment to defending the vulnerable in society and insisted that her approach in office was the best she could offer.
“I have no regrets in the way I did my job. I don’t have regrets. I don’t think I could have done it better. That was the highest way I could have done it. That issue of being diplomatic is what I don’t understand,” she said.
