Come celebrate my darling husband’s birthday with me, women affairs minister tells colleagues

Uju Kennedy-Ohanenye

Uju Kennedy-Ohanenye, minister of women’s affairs, has announced plans to celebrate her husband’s birthday.

In an invitation to her colleagues dated January 29, 2023, the 50-year-old asked them to join her for the celebration on Sunday, fondly describing her husband as the “birthday boy.”.

“Please come celebrate my darling husband’s birthday with me,” the letter leads.

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“Birthday boy: Double Chief Kennedy Ohanenye.

“Date & Time: 4th February, 2024 / 3pm dot.

“Venue: Transcorp Hilton Hotel.”

One of the event planners told NewMailNG that the memo was only intended for ministers, adding that the event was billed as a “low-key, small interaction.”.

“I don’t know how the memo got out; besides, it’s nothing serious. It’s just a small interaction,” she said.

Kennedy-Ohanenye did not respond to calls or text messages regarding the authenticity of the invitation.

NewMailNG understands that the year ‘2023’ as written on the invite was a typo that should have read as ‘2024’.

WHO IS THE MINISTER’S HUSBAND?

Not much is known of the minister’s husband except that he is also a lawyer, a businessman, and a philanthropist.

In an interview she granted last year, the minister said she always looks forward to spending time with her husband whenever she is not at work, describing him as her “main baby.”.

“You will not believe it, and I don’t know how to explain it. He is my main, first baby,” she said.

“That is the first thing I look forward to. Then, I love to cook for him personally. There is no day I don’t prepare something for him, even if it is only spaghetti.

“That is why I always come to work early. By 8am or 8.30am, I’m here, and by 5pm, I must have rounded off what I’m doing, and I go home to make some food for my husband and my children.

“I have a cook, but I have these special meals that I usually do, and some of them don’t take long to get prepared and ready. I bring out the food, serve it, and we eat together and get the gist.”

The duo has been married for over 20 years and has four children together.

SOCIAL MEDIA CRITICISMS

Criticisms have trailed the minister’s proposed birthday bash for her spouse.

A source within the cabinet told our correspondent that not a few colleagues raised eyebrows after Kennedy-Ohanenye posted the invitation, positing that it was “ill-timed” and “tone deaf.”.

“But she just doesn’t get it,” the source added.

The development also comes amid the backlash that has followed President Bola Tinubu’s trip to France.

Last week, Ajuri Ngelale, presidential spokesperson, announced that Tinubu had embarked on a private visit to Paris, the French capital.

Ngelale said the president is expected back in the country in the first week of February.

Femi Falana, senior advocate of Nigeria (SAN), faulted Tinubu for the trip, describing it as an embarrassment to Nigeria, especially as the French government has not recognised his presence.

Some X users have criticised the minister for the proposed birthday bash for her husband as the country grapples with spiralling inflation, a weakened currency, unemployment, and insecurity.