THE embattled Minister of Women Affairs, Uju Kennedy-Ohanenye, has claimed she is being victimized by the National Assembly and some cabals for refusing to sign a $500 million World Bank loan request.
Kennedy-Ohanenye, disclosed this during a phone interview with THISDAY newspaper, noting that there was also another case of $100 million.
“There is a $500 million loan that was meant to be signed by me, but I refused to sign. There was also a case of $100 million earlier as well. Find out what it was meant for.
“All the loans they collect, including World Bank loans, etc, are you aware that the same World Bank staff in Nigeria takes back 40 per cent and calls it consultation fees?
“These are things you people should look into. You people should focus on where the problem is and let them leave me alone,” she said.
The minister alleged that her life was at risk because she refused to sign the $500 million loan.
The ICIR reports there was a bit of uproar when the minister appeared before the committee to address allegations of a N1.5 billion diversion intended for contract payments by her ministry officials.
The situation became heated when the committee demanded an account of the substantial sum released by the Office of the Accountant General of the Federation for contractor payments.
Uju, however, confirmed that 30 per cent of the total contract payment was released to the ministry but stated that she couldn’t provide further details because the President’s wife, Oluremi Tinubu, had advised her to mind her own business.
She also blamed the non-payment of the contractors on the fact that the total amount was not released to her ministry.
She mentioned that if she had signed the loan, she would have been entitled to five per cent of the money, but chose not to.
Kennedy-Ohanenye further stated that this refusal was why the National Assembly and others were targeting her.
According to her, 40 per cent of the loan would be secretly taken by the cabals.
She added: “Now, my life is at stake because I refused to sign the $500 million loan. Let me tell you, if I sign that loan today, I am entitled to five per cent of the money, but I refused to sign it. It is part of why the National Assembly and all of them are after me.
“And that 40 per cent they take is a secret, I found it out. Why should anybody give us a loan and you still direct us how to use the loan, and you take 40 per cent and provide us with a consultant that will take it, and they will take it?
“I told them $100 million is too much to use to teach our women how to save money, we can teach them, let them bring the $100 million and give it to those women and use it to know what to do with their lives. Let me do things that would impact the lives of the people,” she noted.
The minister had also been queried by the House of Representatives for allegedly spending unrelated expenditures, including N45 million for a new year party and N20 million for sanitary pads.
She was also accused of spending N1.5 million on vehicle fuel.
Usman Mustapha is a solution journalist with International Centre for Investigative Reporting. You can easily reach him via: umustapha@icirnigeria.com. He tweets @UsmanMustapha_M
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Every agency of government and their operators, are most times selfish and unpatriotic.