Former Minister of Women Affairs, Uju Kennedy-Ohanenye, has declared that she has no regrets regarding her actions during her time in President Bola Tinubu’s cabinet. Speaking in an interview on Channels Television on Wednesday, the former minister emphasized that she could not have performed her duties any better than she did.
Kennedy-Ohanenye, who was among five ministers dismissed by President Tinubu in October, faced several controversies during her brief tenure. One of the most prominent was her threat to sue the United Nations (UN) over alleged mismanagement of funds intended for Nigeria.
Addressing her removal, she stated, “I’m not a witch to know why I was sacked, and I have decided not to think about it. The important thing is that I have been sacked, and I have refocused on what I was doing before.”
The former minister reaffirmed her dedication to advocating for vulnerable individuals in society, maintaining that her actions as a minister were rooted in prioritizing urgent responses over bureaucratic protocol.
“Being a minister of women affairs at that time, I was handling sensitive cases,” Kennedy-Ohanenye 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.
“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.”
Rejecting criticisms of her lack of diplomacy, Kennedy-Ohanenye stood firm on her approach, asserting that there is no room for hesitation in addressing urgent matters.
“I don’t know what people think about being diplomatic when things are damaging. 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 issue of being diplomatic is what I don’t understand,” she said.
Kennedy-Ohanenye’s remarks reflect her unyielding belief in her methods and her continued commitment to defending the rights of the vulnerable, even beyond her tenure in office.