Following the 1994 coup d'état, Waffa-Ogoo was appointed Minister of Information and Tourism in the new government formed by Yahya Jammeh. She was one of only two women in cabinet, along with Fatoumata Tambajang (the Minister of Health). She and Jammeh had known each other as children, with some sources describing her as his "adopted sister". Waffa-Ogoo's title was changed to Minister of Tourism and Culture in 1996, and following a ministerial reshuffle in August 2000 she was instead made Minister for Fisheries, Natural Resources, and the Environment. She returned to the tourism and culture portfolio in September 2004, but in February 2006 was sacked from the cabinet entirely and replaced by Angela Colley (a former student of hers). Waffa-Ogoo returned to the cabinet in October 2006, as Minister for Trade, Industry, and Employment, but was again dismissed in February 2007.