The Minister of Women Affairs, Imaan Sulaiman-Ibrahim, has told workers in the ministry that she is not upset over their protest, adding that the controversy has rather made her more popular than she was.
The minister stated this on Friday, during a town hall meeting at the National Centre for Women’s Development, following the workers’ protest on Wednesday, demanding better welfare and better working conditions.
On Wednesday, September 10, 2025, staff of the Women Affairs Ministry locked out Sulaiman-Ibrahim in protest over prolonged neglect and poor welfare conditions, chanting solidarity songs and demanding the minister’s removal.
But addressing the workers on Friday, the minister said she believed more positives had come out of the situation than negatives, adding that, being a politician, she was familiar with scandals and crises.
“Let me tell you something, I’m not angry with any of you. I am a politician. We are used to scandals and crises. My concern was that there were concerns in the home, and we should iron them out. And that is why I came. I am not upset.
“In fact, I’m even now a more popular politician. Because people who didn’t know me now know me. Everybody is going to research me. You know, look at my work. For me, you know, more positives have come out than the negatives. And also, our work is going viral. Our work in the ministry. Work that I will go and suffer and mobilise, and I will only get five likes, now, more people are going to look at it and like it.
“So now, we have thrown ourselves into the public domain. People will know whether we are good or bad. Because these people are not fools. No matter what we say, they know how to look and see what is true,” she said.
The minister assured the workers that her office has “tried to be creative” in solving the issue of welfare, as she had been briefed on their concerns by the Permanent Secretary of the ministry.
“I know the problems we have, the Perm Sec has discussed with me. We have tried to be creative. Trust me, when she came, she spoke to me about welfare. I was the one who told her where we can pay welfare,” she stated.
The minister, however, said she was not bent on remaining in the office, as some other politicians were, adding that if she were to be removed from office, she knew that she had delivered her best as she had been directed to by Tinubu.
Sulaiman-Ibrahim also appealed to the workers to respect authority and understand the structure in the ministry, noting that her task was to advance Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda to women in the country through the ministry.
“You know, some people think that as a politician, you want to die in one seat. I am not that kind of politician, trust me. I have a lot of dreams. I am already a minister, not once, but twice. Nobody can take that out of my CV. So, I’m not afraid of a crisis, I’m not afraid of leaving here. But whatever was given to me, I did it properly. So please, I beg you in the name of almighty God, for the love of country, because we are all patriots, let’s safeguard our institution.
“My role in the ministry is to push the agenda of Mr President for women forward, with all of our support. And the system brought the Permanent Secretary to enable that for me, that is the structure. Let us understand. And I beg you, in the future, please respect authority so that God can raise you to that level, I beg you”, Sulaiman-Ibrahim added.
