The Minister of Women Affairs and Social Development, Uju Kennedy-Ohanenye, stormed an event organized by Mela-Chiyoma PAT Limited, on Thursday, accusing the organisers of impersonating the Federal Ministry of Women Affairs.
The incident, which unfolded in Abuja on Thursday, has sparked widespread attention after a video of the minister’s confrontation went viral.
The event, titled “Unveiling the Power of Women and Food Security,” was abruptly halted by Minister Kennedy-Ohanenye, who accused the organisers of fraudulently using the name of her ministry without proper authorization.
The minister, visibly frustrated, addressed the attendees, saying, “That makes it a fraud. So that’s why I’m standing here to explain this to everyone. She has been arrested. She should have reorganized herself, used her name to make the invitation, and used her name to do this, not to use the Federal Ministry of Women Affairs.”
The video, which quickly circulated on social media, captures the minister decisively shutting down the event. “I can’t allow this program to continue. I’m sorry about it,” she declared, leaving the audience bewildered and the event in disarray.
The minister further explained her actions, stating, “We had to involve the police because this is pure impersonation, and the president is not happy about it. I’m saying it, let the media cover it, we don’t care. You don’t take the ministry for granted, for what?”
According to the minister, the unauthorized use of the ministry’s name was a serious offense that required immediate action. She revealed that the organizer had been taken into custody by the Department of State Services (DSS) for alleged impersonation.
“There is an impersonating thing going on here. The Federal Ministry of Women Affairs did not plan this. The lady, I have arrested her. Right now, she is with the Department of State Service (DSS),” Kennedy-Ohanenye said in a video posted on her X (formerly Twitter) account.
The minister emphasized that the event had been previously canceled with the president’s approval, yet the organizer proceeded with it, leading to the accusation of fraud.
“After we wrote that we were cancelling, the president approved that we should cancel until further notice; she still went ahead to print this thing. This is impersonation. As far as this thing was given out there, that makes it a fraud,” she explained.
