Minister of Women Affairs, Uju Kennedy-Ohanenye has broken her silence following her sack as Nigeria’s Minister of Women Affairs which was undoubtedly fraught with controversies, backlash, and criticisms that may have finally cost her the job.
She was among the five Ministers sacked by President Bola Tinubu on Wednesday, October 23 following a major cabinet shake-up and since then, the name of the former APC presidential candidate has been a trending topic.
Taking to social media on Thursday, she wrote: “LETTER OF APPRECIATION”.
“I write to express my sincere gratitude to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu for the opportunity to serve as a Minister of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. It has been an honor and a privilege to contribute to the development of our Nation.
“I would also like to extend my heartfelt thanks to Senator Oluremi Tinubu, the First Lady of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, for her invaluable guidance and support during my tenure as Minister of Women Affairs. Her kindness and encouragement have been instrumental to my success.
“To the people of Nigeria, I am deeply grateful for your unwavering support. Your trust and confidence in me have been a constant source of inspiration.
“I remain committed to serving my country and will continue to do my utmost to contribute to its progress and prosperity.”
Uju Kennedy-Ohanenye Controversies
She assumed office as Women Affairs Minister on 21 August 2023 succeeding Pauline Tallen who stepped down due to health reasons.
Here are her controversies that got people talking.
1. UNICAL Sexual Harassment Scandal
In September 2023, Uju faced backlash when she interfered in the sexual harassment scandal at the University of Calabar (UNICAL) involving the suspended dean of the law faculty, Prof. Cyril Ndifon. In a video that went viral, she downplayed the claims of some of the female students threatening them with dire consequences including imprisonment if they continued to pursue the case of sexual harassment against Ndifon.
This sparked outrage online with Nigerians calling for her resignation. She was forced to apologize following pressure from a body of women’s rights groups.
2. Child Labour
In what seemed like Child Labour advocacy, Kennedy-Ohanenye had implored that children should be involved in the production of essentials like it is done.
Speaking at the Anambra Investment Summit in Anambra on September 7, 2023, she advocated for the reduction of school days to enable them to use their free time to manufacture essentials such as toothpicks, sanitary pads & cotton buds in what she termed “urban development”.
“I am pleading for us to look into more production of some of these things in our society. Especially the necessities like the matchbox, the toothpick, the cotton buds, the sanitary pads and stuff like that. Let us introduce urban development in the schools.
If we can think about using Fridays as free, for our children to start producing things just like they do in China. In China, even young kids get involved in production,” Kennedy-Ohanenye said.
3. Threat to Sue UN
In October 2023, Uju threatened to sue the United Nations (UN) over alleged mismanagement of donor funds meant for Nigeria.
During a press conference on Oct 16, she alleged that the UN body failed to disburse the funds meant for the country and threatened to drag the body to court if it failed to release a report about the money to Nigerians.
She said, “I stand here as a minister of woman affairs to demand from UN, all the UN; that we want account of all the money they sourced from donors in the name of Nigeria.
“We want to see the account of it and if you don’t give us this account, at least let Nigerians see what has been going on. Then you plead with them, apologise to them and change your ways.
“From 16th of October to November 15th. If we don’t see these reports published for Nigerians to see, we are heading to court. From 16th of October to November 8, they get our pre-action letters.
4. Niger State Speaker Marriage Saga
In May 2024, the former minister sued the Speaker of the Niger State House of Assembly, Abdulmalik Sarkindaji, for his plans to marry off 100 orphans.
This sparked a national discourse, with organizations such as the Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC) urging her to drop the case, claiming it degraded local culture. Kennedy-Ohanenye later dismissed the lawsuit, claiming that the girls’ ages were being investigated.
