Former Minister of Women Affairs, Uju-Ken Ohanenye, on Wednesday said she has no regrets over some actions she took as minister.

Since her appointment in August 2023, Ohanenye has been marred by controversy in office, including her threat to sue the United Nations (UN) for allegedly mismanaging funds meant for Nigeria.

She was fired by President Bola Tinubu on October 23, alongside four other ministers at the time – Lola Ade-John (Tourism), Jamila Bio Ibrahim (Youth Development), Tahir Mamman (Education) and Abdullahi Muhammad Gwarzo (Housing and Urban
Development).

Two months later, she weighed in on some issues regarding her stay in office, saying she did her best as minister within the year she held sway at the Women Affairs Ministry.

“I have a responsibility given to me to man that place and make sure things go right. I wouldn’t have tolerated anybody trying to rubbish deceit given to me,” she said on Channels Television’s Politics Today.

“There must be an impact on people. I’m glad that I didn’t give such chance and I have no regret in the way I did my job. That was the highest way I would have done that.”

During the interview, she spoke on some donations on October 15 made by many Nigerians to help some vulnerable Nigerians.

According to her, she was sacked as minister two weeks after the ministry raked in over N200 million.

“The programmes I initiated like the mobile courts, going to rescue small girls hawking on the streets, I did not have money for that because it wasn’t part of what was budgeted for.

“When I called on Nigerians, I was so surprised a lot of them gathered at the villa and donated money to this effect. They were very happy to support it.

Unfortunately, not up to two weeks after the donations, I was sacked. When that happened, there was no way I could use that money. I asked the secretary in charge to write to the bank to do a reversal of the funds,” she added.

A fire safety expert, Debbie Windele has warned of possible increase in fire incidents in the country during Harmattan.

Speaking at the weekly e-Discourse organised by leading Pan-Africa forum, Platforms Africa, Windele, who is the Managing Director of Safety Experts Limited said the only way to reduce it is to practice a good Fire Safety Culture in homes and places of work.

Harmattan occurs between the end of November and the middle of March.

The season has always been associated with high risk of fire outbreak due to low humidity and dry air. Deaths are typically recorded during such fire outbreaks.

“The Harmattan season comes with environmental challenges such as , dust, cold dusty air, dry skin and of course Fire incidents occur more this time of the year because of the dryness.

“When a small fire starts, it tends to spread very quickly. Human activities such as indiscriminate burning tends to aggravate fire during this season. If we must burn, it must be monitored,” Windele said at the event anchored by Accra, Ghana-based veteran journalist, Mr. Francis KOKUTSE.

She continued; “And in our homes, we must ensure that cooking is not left unattended, electrical appliances switched off when not in use, we should also reduce the dust gathering in our homes. Regular cleaning must be done.
“The only way to reduce it is to practice a good Fire Safety Culture in their homes and places of work among others.”

The expert who described Bush Fire as the major problem said regular pruning of bushes and trees , removal of weeds and racking of leaves will help in the prevention and reduction with any damage as a result of bush fires.

She said inadequate personnel and equipment are a major bane in the sector and urged government to invest in combating fire incidents.

“Africa leadership must invest in this area of public service so we can align with global standard on both firefighting personnel and equipments to enhance performance,” she said.

Speaking further, she said “continuous advocacy and sensitization are required on the part of the various arms of Government.

African Government should aim to build more Fire Stations, develop current staff, increase the current staff strength by recruiting and training more officers, provide them with decent work benefits so as to attract and retain the right people in the service,” she added.

Team Lead, Platforms Africa, Adeola Yusuf, called for more fire safety Consciousness among the government and people of Africa particularly during this Hammattan period.

“Platforms Africa is, through our weekly e-Discourse and many others, fast becoming a reference point in Africa. Our vision is to end misinformation, disinformation, mal-information in the World, starting from our continent. Our mission is to create and sustain cycles of informed Africans, and through the support and efforts of our resource persons, we shall continue to our best,” Yusuf said.

Sokoto State Governor, Ahmed Aliyu, has visited the two communities that were bombed by the military fighter jets in error.

No fewer than 10 people were killed with several injured in military airstrike in the early hours of Wednesday.

Worried by the development, the governor defied the difficult terrain of the village and joined other residents for the funeral prayers for the dead victims.

He donated ₦20 million to support the families of those affected by the incident.

He was accompanied by the All Progressives Congress (APC) leader in the state, Senator Aliyu Wamakko and the Minister of Labour and Employment, Muhammadu Maigari Dingyadi.

The governor sympathised with the community and described the incident as unfortunate.

“The military jets were on their mission to eliminate criminals armed groups terrorizing the state, and mistakenly bombed innocent people of this community,” he said.

“We consider this as a mistake because the same military had on several occasions successfully raided so many criminal hideouts in the state.”

Aliyu stated that a thorough investigation would be conducted to find out what led to the avoidable mistake, so as to guard against its recurrence.

He also rayed to Almighty Allah to forgive the deceased and give their families the strength to bear the loss.

Earlier, the Secretary to the State Government, Muhammad Bello Sifawa, announced a donation of ₦20 million and 100 bags of assorted foodstuffs to the families of the deceased.

He added that the state government would settle the medical bills of those hospitalised as a result of injuries they sustained from the bombardment.