Uju Kennedy-Ohaneye, the Minister of Women Affairs is up in arms with Kafilat Ogbara, a Member of the House of Representatives, Kosofe Federal Constit
Uju Kennedy-Ohaneye, the Minister of Women Affairs is up in arms with Kafilat Ogbara, a Member of the House of Representatives, Kosofe Federal Constituency, Lagos State as well as the Chairman, Women Affairs Committee of the lower chamber.
Kennedy-Ohaneye has slammed the lawmaker with a suit of N1 billion over defamation of character. The minister claims Ogbara made wrong allegations against her while answering questions thrown at her during a television programme earlier in the month. Kennedy-Ohanenye said that Ogbara disclosed that she was already under investigation by the Committee on Public Procurement, and that she was also being invited to appear before the House Committee on Women Affairs over various offences in the ministry she mans.
The minister who disclosed that she was being wrongly accused of transactions that transpired before her assumption of office as the Minister of Women Affairs, said that the wrong accusations exposed her to odium and ridicule, especially before right-thinking members of the society, including friends, associates, lawyers, relatives, among others. Kennedy-Ohanenye explained further that she had expressed her disdain towards the false allegation and till date, Ogbara and her committee are yet to make any effort to retract the defamatory publication which is her reason for filing the defamation of character suit against her.
Recall that about two weeks ago, the evidence of a cold war between the two women who are ironically, members of the ruling All Progressives Congress, APC. The sparks they have both been emitting has become a source of concern for many political watchers including their fellow party members.
In May, the lower chambers unveiled plans to investigate allegations concerning endemic financial misappropriation in the Federal Ministry of Women’s Affairs. Ogbara had revealed that some contractors had initiated a petition against the minister over the payment of the sum of N510 million to contractors who did not participate in a bidding process while those who did were left out in the cold. Ogbara had expressed displeasure over the inordinate attitude of Kennedy-Ohaneye to her Committee, arguing that the minister has not been cooperative despite efforts made to synergize with her. She also claimed that she has many petitions against the minister, particularly from people working within the Ministry, who complained that the minister works alone and doesn’t carry them along. She claimed that the minister had been invited several times to appear before the committee and address the issues she is being accused of, but the minister has remained aloof.
But in a rebuttal, the minister did not only deny Ogabara’s claims, but she also insisted that she is not under investigation over allegations of fund misappropriation. She also said that the house of representatives did not invite her personally over the matter but her ‘office’ adding that Ogbara had no right to publicly say the things she said about her.
