Uju Kennedy-Ohanenye, the former Minister of Women’s Affairs, says she did not regret her activities as a cabinet member in President Bola Tinubu’s administration.
The former minister commented in an interview with Channels Television on Wednesday.
Kennedy-Ohanenye, one of five ministers fired by Tinubu in October, claimed she could not have performed better while in government.
Her tenure as minister was marked by controversy, including a threat to sue the United Nations (UN) for allegedly mismanaging funds intended for Nigeria.
When asked why the president removed her as a minister, Kennedy-Ohanenye responded she wasn’t a “witch” to have known the cause.
“I’m not a witch to know why I was sacked, and I have decided not to think about it,” the former minister said.
“The important thing is that I have been sacked, and I have refocused on what I was doing before.”
However, she noted that her commitment to defending vulnerable individuals in society remains unchanged.
On why some Nigerians think she was not diplomatic as a minister in handling some issues, Kennedy-Ohanenye said she was handling sensitive cases that involved a lot of human sympathy.
Kennedy-Ohanenye argued that she was appointed as a minister to serve the people and not to act as someone bigger than the people.
She said:
“Being a minister of women’s 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.”
