June 9, (THEWILL)- It looks like there is a cold war brewing between Uju Kennedy-Ohanenye, Minister for Women Affairs and Hon. Kafilat Ogbara, a Member of the House of Representatives, Kosofe Federal Constituency, Lagos State.
Both women are members of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) but the sparks they have both been emitting have become a source of concern for many political watchers, including their fellow party members.
Last month, the lower chambers unveiled plans to investigate allegations concerning endemic financial misappropriation in the Federal Ministry of Women’s Affairs.
Ogbara, the Chairman, House Committee on Women Affairs, revealed this much during an investigative hearing into petitions initiated by some contractors over the payment of the sum of N510 million into the accounts of contractors who did not participate in the bidding process. The investigative hearing was held at the instance of the House Committee on Procurement chaired by Hon. Unyime Idem.
Ogbara who expressed displeasure over the inordinate attitude of Kennedy-Ohaneye to the Committee, argued 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 has been invited several times to appear before the committee and address the issues she is being accused of but has remained aloof.
However, in a rebuttal, the Minister did not only deny Ogabara’s claims but also insisted that she was 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.
Kennedy-Ohaneye concluded by saying, “I will not fight my fellow woman. What I will do is to make sure that she realises that the narrative has changed and that she has to join the wagon. The narrative now is that we women should focus on how we uplift ourselves because there is a lot of poverty among women, and many women do not have property except 10 per cent.
“We have a lot to deal with. There is a lot of defilement and maltreatment of women. I am assuring Nigerians that she will learn to behave better and that we will help renavigate her to the new narratives.”
Ivory Ukonu is a versatile journalist with many years of experience, with entertainment and society reporting as her area of core competence.
