Ex-Minister
Former Minister of Women Affairs, Uju Kennedy Ohanenye, has alleged that budgets approved for her ministry were prepared without her involvement and that significant funds were not released to her during her tenure. Kennedy Ohanenye made the claims on Channels Television, where she also stated that she personally funded some ministry activities when government releases were delayed or unavailable.
₦400 million of my personal money
“I carried out some cases with my own funds. I spent about ₦400 million of my personal money after seeing no evidence to show that the $100 million Nigerian women project was done. I did not feel good about it,” she said. The former minister further alleged that the Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Women Affairs had petitioned the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) against her over an alleged ₦138 million fraud.
Allegation and insisting
“₦138 million, is that the kind of money they steal?” she queried, dismissing the allegation and insisting that she was not involved in any wrongdoing. Kennedy Ohanenye also said she is still owed reimbursement by the Federal Government for funds she expended personally on ministry programmes.
Kennedy Ohanenye
Kennedy Ohanenye was appointed Minister of Women Affairs in August 2023 by President Bola Tinubu. During her term, she placed emphasis on women’s economic empowerment and social inclusion before her dismissal in a cabinet reshuffle on October 23, 2024, which saw five ministers relieved of their positions.
Before her ministerial appointment, she was a female aspirant in the All Progressives Congress (APC) presidential primaries, stepping down in support of Tinubu’s candidacy. Her tenure was punctuated by several controversial statements and proposals that generated strong public reactions:
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Suggested that schoolchildren
In September 2023, she suggested that schoolchildren should have Fridays off to engage in production activities, a proposal that critics condemned as tantamount to promoting child labour. She publicly accused the United Nations of collecting funds on Nigeria’s behalf without accountability and threatened legal action if detailed records were not provided.
Proposed mass wedding
Another flashpoint arose over her handling of a proposed mass wedding of 100 girls in Niger State. Initially opposing the event on the basis that it violated the Child Rights Act, she later reversed her stance after asserting the girls were of legal age and not coerced.
Phone conversation emerged
In addition, she attracted criticism after a leaked phone conversation emerged in which she was heard threatening female students who testified in a sexual harassment case involving a University of Calabar professor. She subsequently issued a public apology for her remarks.
Kennedy Ohanenye
During her tenure, Kennedy Ohanenye was also involved in several clashes with event organisers in Abuja, accusing some of staging programmes without her ministry’s approval. On one occasion, she claimed an organiser was impersonating Ministry officials and that the person had been taken into custody by security operatives.