By Watchdog reporter
For the recent past, State Minister for ICT Aidah Erios Nantaba has been involved in a war war with fellow minister Persis Namuganza and on several occasions they have been abusing themselves under unclear circumstances. One time the two youthful ministers fought for a microphone and the latest attack; Namuganza called Nantaba a prostitute.
Usually Nantaba calls President Yoweri Museveni ‘Daddy’ and the president calls her ‘daughter’. Probably it could be because she is one of Museveni’s favourite ministers.
Nantaba was born in Kayunga District on 20 December 1979. She attended Ndeeba Primary School in Kayunga District from 1986 to 1992, where she finished her Primary Leaving Examinations.
Her father did not have money enough to take her to a very good secondary school so she joined Ndeeba Senior Secondary School for her S1 in 1993. Villagers in the village of Kisoga, in Kayunga District, recall how she used to be carried on a bicycle by a brother to school, about 14 kilometres (8.7 mi) from their home, daily.
In 1994, Nantaba’s mother acquired some money and Nantaba was moved from Ndeeba SSS to Katikamu SDA SSS where she studied from S2 to S6, from February 1994 to November 1998.
On 26 September 1999, Nantaba was admitted to Makerere University, together with the brother who used to ferry her to school, for a degree in tourism. She undertook an undergraduate student research project, “Medicinal Plants As Tourism Potential: Case Study of Uganda Wildlife Educational Center (UWEC)”, which was supervised by Professor J. B. Nyakaana. Nantaba has a Bachelor of Tourism degree, obtained in 2003 from Makerere University.
In 2003, following her graduation from Makerere, she worked as a tourism officer with Pearl of Africa Tours and Travel Limited. She left that job in late 2003.
Beginning in 2005, she served on the board of directors of Jordan Laboratories Limited, a distributor of photographic and printing equipment. In 2010, she joined active elective politics by contesting the Kayunga District Women’s Parliamentary Constituency.
She won the NRM political party primary by defeating the incumbent, Florence Naiga. In 2011, she was elected during the general election. In a cabinet reshuffle on 15 August 2012, she was appointed as State Minister for Lands, replacing Sarah Opendi Achieng. After weeks of protracted confirmation hearings, the Appointments Committee of Parliament finally confirmed her appointment on 23 October 2012.
During the 2016 parliamentary election cycle, Nantaba lost during the primary elections held by the National Resistance Movement (NRM), her political party at the time. She quit the party, citing rigging during the primaries, as she had previously warned.
During the national elections held on 18 February 2016, Nantaba, who ran as an independent candidate, polled 86,057 votes against Ruth Nakacwa, who received 13,184 votes. Despite having quit the ruling NRM party, she was appointed as Minister of State for ICT on 6 June 2016.
Apparently, Nantaba is single and she is of the Seventh-day Adventist faith.
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