Tinubu’s Wife Empowers 500 Ekiti Women with ₦25m Grants
The First Lady of Nigeria, Senator Oluremi Tinubu, on Friday empowered 500 women in Ekiti State with grants totaling ₦25 million under the Renewed Hope Initiative Economic Empowerment Programme.
The beneficiaries, each receiving ₦50,000, were drawn from different communities across the state to boost and recapitalise their existing small-scale businesses.
Represented by the wife of the Ekiti State Governor, Dr Olayemi Oyebanji, the First Lady said the programme was part of her commitment to promoting women’s economic independence and entrepreneurship across the country. She stressed that the funds were not loans but outright grants, describing them as a “seed of renewed hope” for the beneficiaries.
The initiative, she explained, is being implemented in partnership with the Tony Elumelu Foundation (TEF), which recently donated ₦1 billion to support 18,500 women nationwide. According to her, 500 women from each of the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory will benefit from the grant scheme.
“I thank the Tony Elumelu Foundation for this generous donation, which is helping us directly support thousands of women across Nigeria,” Mrs Tinubu stated. “This empowerment is designed to strengthen small businesses, improve livelihoods, and contribute to economic growth at the grassroots level.”
In her goodwill message, Ekiti State Deputy Governor, Chief Monisade Afuye, described the gesture as timely, given the prevailing economic challenges facing households and small business owners. She urged the beneficiaries to use the funds prudently to grow their enterprises and improve their families’ welfare.
Similarly, the Tony Elumelu Foundation’s representative, Mrs Moyosade Fakunle, assured that the programme would continue, with future opportunities for women who were not selected in the current phase.
Some of the beneficiaries, speaking with journalists, expressed gratitude to the First Lady and the Foundation, describing the grant as a lifeline in the face of rising costs of goods and services.
They appealed for more empowerment initiatives to cushion the effect of the economic downturn and create sustainable livelihoods.
The Renewed Hope Initiative is one of the flagship social intervention programmes championed by the First Lady’s office, focusing on women’s empowerment, girl-child education, and humanitarian support to vulnerable groups.
