Uju Kennedy-Ohanenye, the former minister of women’s affairs, has said she doesn’t know why President Bola Tinubu fired her.
Kennedy-Ohanenye clarified that she did her best to fulfill her responsibilities while in office and has decided not to focus on the President’s choice. She went on to say that she has returned her attention to her prior work before to her appointment and is not worried about rumors that she will be removed.
In an interview with Channels Television on Wednesday, she declared, “I have chosen not to worry about it, and I’m not a witch to know why I was terminated.” “The fact that I was fired and returned to my previous activities is what matters.”
Kennedy-Ohanenye reflected on her tenure as Minister, pointing out that she frequently handled delicate issues and fought for the rights of those in need. She brushed aside complaints that she lacked the manners of a minister or that her approach could have been more tactful.
“I have no regrets about how I handled matters while in office,” she stated, emphasizing that she believes her actions were appropriate and could not have been done any better.
“Being a minister of women affairs as at that time, I was handling sensitive cases.
“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.
“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 was the highest way I could have done it. That issue of being diplomatic is what I don’t understand,” she submitted.
Kennedy-Ohanenye was reportedly one of the ministers that President Bola Tinubu fired in October 2023 as part of a cabinet reorganization.
She was fired together with four other ministers: Abdullahi Muhammad Gwarzo (Housing and Urban Development), Tahir Mamman (Education), Jamila Bio Ibrahim (Youth Development), and Lola Ade-John (Tourism).