She explained that the items, which included gas cookers, grinding machines, chest freezers, generators, hair dryers, and other equipment, would provide beneficiaries with the resources to build successful businesses, reduce poverty, and contribute to national prosperity.
Nigeria’s First Lady, Senator Oluremi Tinubu, on Saturday, restated her commitment to women’s empowerment and enterprise development with the upliftment of 1,000 women and Persons Living with Disabilities (PwDs) in Lagos.
During the Renewed Hope Initiative (RHI) empowerment programme, organised by the Office of the Senior Special Assistant (SSA) to the President on Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), at the Lagos House, Ikeja on Saturday, Mrs. Tinubu, who is also Chairperson of RHI, said that 18,500 women would benefit from the initiative across Nigeria’s six geopolitical zones.
Tinubu praised Lagos State Governor, Mr. Babajide Sanwo-Olu for this gesture and commitment to the growth and development of women in the state, and for supporting RHI with an additional 500 empowerment items, raising the total beneficiaries in the state to 1,000 women and PwDs with disabilities, compared to 500 in other states.
She explained that the items, which included gas cookers, grinding machines, chest freezers, generators, hair dryers, and other equipment, would provide beneficiaries with the resources to build successful businesses, reduce poverty, and contribute to national prosperity.
The First Lady said that the ‘programme aligns with the Renewed Hope Agenda of His Excellency President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, GCFR, which prioritises inclusivity, economic growth, and sustainable development for all Nigerians, particularly women’s economic empowerment.
‘Similarly, the empowerment of women in all spheres of life is central to achieving all the SDGs, especially SDG-5 on ‘achieving gender equality and empowering all women and girls’ and SDG-8 on ‘decent work and economic growth’, which are all relevant to the purpose of this gathering.
‘The items being distributed today are to equip our women with the necessary tools and resources they need to build successful businesses and to contribute to the prosperity of our great nation.
‘To the beneficiaries of this empowerment programme, I encourage you to use these resources judiciously to grow your business. Let these items serve as a foundation for creating a better life for yourselves and your families. I hope and pray that what you received today will prosper in your hands’.
Earlier, Sanwo-Olu, who commended the First Lady for her decades-long commitment to good governance and empowerment of women across Nigeria, urged beneficiaries not to sell the empowerment tools but to use them to grow wealth and boost the state’s GDP.
The governor said Tinubu had been ‘a voice of courage, a pillar of strength, and a beacon of hope for women and children’ for decades, adding that her life’s work has shown that ’empowerment is not charity – it is justice, it is opportunity, and it is nation-building’.
He said: ‘Across the federation, the Renewed Hope Initiative is planting seeds of opportunity in households across this nation. The programme is lifting women with direct grants that allow them to rebuild, to restart, and to reimagine their futures.
‘The empowerment of 1,000 women is far more than the distribution of support – it is the sowing of seeds that will grow into forests of possibilities. This vision complements what we stand for in Lagos. At the heart of our developmental agenda is a commitment to inclusivity – we believe firmly that women are not just beneficiaries of development; they are active drivers of progress’.
Also, the SSA to the President on SDGs, Princess Adejoke Orelope-Adefulire noted that the programme aligned with SDGs 1, 2, 5, 6, and 10, stressing that financially empowered women would positively impact their communities and the nation at large.
The event was attended by the wife of the Vice President, Mrs. Nana Shettima; wife of Lagos State Governor, Dr. (Mrs.) Ibijoke Sanwo-Olu; Lagos State Deputy Governor, Dr. Obafemi Hamzat and his wife, Oluremi; wife of the Chief of Staff to the President, Mrs. Salamatu Gbajabiamila; Speaker of the state House of Assembly, Rt. Hon. Mudashiru Obasa; traditional, religious and political leaders, among other top dignitaries.
