PUNCH
The Minister of Women Affairs, Uju Kennedy-Ohanenye, on Monday, justified spending N1.5m to fuel six vehicles in her convoy on a trip to Anambra State.
The minister made the statement when she featured as a guest on Channels Television’s Politics Today.
The development comes five days after her heated argument with members of the House of Representatives, which wanted to know how her ministry appropriated unrelated expenditures, including N45 million for a New Year party, N20 million for sanitary pads and N1.5 million for petrol.
Speaking on the live television programme on Monday, Kennedy-Ohanenye expressed surprise that the lawmakers could quiz her for expending N1.5m on fuelling their journey, saying the amount wasn’t a big deal.
She said, “How many vehicles? I travelled with the staff in the bus, two security vehicles, one DSS and one police, my vehicle, the backup, and the other one. About six vehicles went all the way to Anambra State for a job and we came back. What is N1.5m for those cars? Everybody knows how much fuel cost since I came in.
“But when I was explaining, they (lawmakers) won’t even give you a chance to explain. They will tell you to just say a ‘yes’ or ‘no.’ How can I say yes or no without an explanation?”
