Minister laments poor funding of women ministry

The Minister for Women Affairs and Social Development, Uju Kennedy-Ohanenye, has disclosed that no funding has been coming to her ministry and that she has had to personally fund some of the projects.

The minister stated this during the “Empower Her” fundraising dinner held at the Banquet Hall of the Presidential Villa, Abuja, on Tuesday evening.

The “Empower Her” initiative is the women’s empowerment programme focused on women’s health, justice, farming, and support.

Speaking with newsmen, Ohanenye said the funds were raised for the affairs of Nigerian women rather than the Ministry of Women Affairs.

She added that she had been handicapped by “bottlenecks” while daring anyone to take her to court over the issue.

“I got some money today. In a short while, I’ll probably start getting them into the account. And I want to make it categorically clear that I didn’t raise this money for the Federal Ministry of Women Affairs, in the case of people who love to nose around, people who just love to get involved in things that don’t concern them.

“I raised this money today for Nigerian women’s affairs, for the affairs of Nigerian women. So that what President Bola Tinubu said that the women should breathe, they will breathe”.

“Now, I have gotten this mobile court for a while now, over five to six months ago. I didn’t have the money to do anything.

“No money has been coming out of that ministry for me to work. Everything you have been seeing, I have been using my money to do it. They are owing me procurement and otherwise. Still, they will go ahead and write a petition and say, Uju did procurement.

“Will I come to work without fuel? Will I do work in my office without papers? Will the women just sit down and die off because of putting bottleneck? Let them write a petition. I await them.

“I don’t run away from trouble, but I don’t look for one. They can take me to court if you feel I’ve done anything, but when it comes to serving my women, I will go out of my way to do that,” she said.

Ohanenye further stated that with the funds raised, she would acquire two buses in each state, starting with the Federal Capital Territory and Nasarawa State, adding that one of the buses would serve as the mobile court, while the other would be used to take girls off the street.

“So one of the buses will be the moving mobile court, while the other one will be the raiding bus.

“Where am I starting? I’m starting by taking my children from the streets. I can’t continue leaving them there while men are defiling them. Every day I get one case or the other, I shed tears. My heart is broken totally.

“You see a three-year-old, the father has defiled her. You see a four-year-old, the teacher has defiled her, sodomised her. She’s leaking everywhere, and she’s had fistula disease for four years.

“These are verifiable, and somebody is telling me, fold your hands and wait for their bottlenecks; let Nigerians die before your bottlenecks are over?

“I decided to take the bold step to raise the money I want to work with. So the mobile court will pick those girls,” she added.

Meanwhile, the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, George Akume, who represented the President, called on stakeholders to empower women “not just for their sake, but for the sake of the entire nation”.

He said, “We must empower women, not just for their sake, but for the sake of our entire nation.

“Where women are empowered, families are stronger, communities are more vibrant, and the nation as a whole prospers.

“I call upon all stakeholders, both within the government and the private sector, to join hands and support initiatives that promote women empowerment whilst creating an environment where every woman in Nigeria has the opportunity to fulfil her potential, pursue her dreams, and contribute meaningfully to society,” he said.