FORMER Minister of Women Affairs, Uju Kennedy-Ohanenye, has said she harbours no regrets over her removal from office, insisting that President Bola Tinubu could not have deliberately acted to cause her harm.
Kennedy-Ohanenye made the remarks today while speaking to newsmen, where she reflected on her tenure, leadership style, and the circumstances surrounding her exit from the cabinet.
“I have no regrets to date. If I could turn back the hands of time, I believe I didn’t do enough and should have been tougher. It is even difficult to rule Nigerians,” she said.
“The President is working, the governors are working, but what are Nigerians doing in between? If you want to work in this country, you must go offline and be firm. Otherwise, you will achieve nothing.”
She said that while she was not the President, she ensured that no improper activities occurred within the scope of her responsibilities as minister.
According to her, she ran the Ministry of Women Affairs with discipline and accountability.
Defending her conduct in office, the former minister rejected claims that she was erratic or undiplomatic, stressing that diplomacy should not mean endorsing actions she believes are harmful to the country.
“There was no way I could have held that office pretending. What Nigerians saw was who I truly am. Being diplomatic does not mean agreeing with things that are destroying your country. I cannot support what I know is wrong,” she said.
Kennedy-Ohanenye added that she is at peace with her decisions and actions while in office, noting that her clear conscience explains her sense of relief since leaving government.
“I am out now, and whatever is happening there is no longer my concern. When I was there, I did what made me happy and my conscience is clear,” she said.
Responding to questions about whether President Tinubu was unfair in relieving her of her duties, she said political decisions often involve considerations beyond what is publicly known.
“In politics, many things happen behind the scenes. What I know is that the President could not have purposely hurt me. He is proud of me and appreciated the way I worked. There must have been factors beyond what he could manage at that time,” she said, adding that she remains on good terms with the President.
She also disclosed that she is not actively seeking another political appointment but remains committed to advocacy against gender-based violence.
The former minister criticised inefficiencies within the civil service, claiming that a significant portion of Nigeria’s challenges stem from systemic failures.
According to her, about 70 per cent of the country’s problems originate from the civil service structure itself.
Kennedy-Ohanenye further alleged that some budgets approved for her ministry were done without her involvement and that funds allocated to the ministry were not fully released during her tenure.
She claimed she spent about ₦400 million of her personal funds on ministry-related cases after seeing no evidence of implementation of a $100 million Nigerian women project.
She also alleged that the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Women Affairs petitioned the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) against her over an alleged ₦138 million fraud, a claim she dismissed, while insisting that the Federal Government still owes her reimbursement for personal funds spent during her time in office.
Kennedy-Ohanenye was appointed Minister of Women Affairs in August 2023 by President Tinubu and was relieved of her position on October 23, 2024, during a cabinet reshuffle that saw the removal of five ministers.