First Lady Senator Oluremi Tinubu has empowered over 1,000 petty traders and persons living with disabilities in the Karomajiji community of the Federal Capital Territory, with each of the beneficiaries receiving a cash grant of N50,000 to support and grow their existing businesses under the Renewed Hope Initiative.

The empowerment programme, held on Saturday at the Physically Challenged Colony along Airport Road, Abuja, also featured the distribution of an array of vocational and business support equipment to boost livelihoods and promote economic self-reliance among some of the most vulnerable members of the community. Items distributed included 39 sewing machines, 13 grinding machines, 35 water pumping machines, 45 hair dryers, 16 power chillers and five tricycles, reflecting a deliberate effort to equip beneficiaries with practical tools for sustainable income generation.

The First Lady, who was represented at the event by the Wife of the Vice President, Hajiya Nana Shettima, expressed appreciation to the residents of Karomajiji for their continued support for the Tinubu administration and urged them to keep working together for the peace, progress and development of their community and the nation at large. She emphasised that the empowerment programme was not restricted to any single demographic, stressing that it was designed to benefit women, men and youth alike.

Speaking at the ceremony, the Minister of State for the FCT, Dr. Mariya Mahmoud, described the initiative as a practical demonstration of President Bola Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda, which she said places the welfare, inclusion and economic empowerment of all Nigerians at the heart of governance. She praised the First Lady for what she called an unwavering commitment to humanitarian causes and her sustained efforts to promote social inclusion and dignity for vulnerable groups across the country. Mahmoud further stressed that empowering persons living with disabilities was not merely a charitable gesture but a strategic investment in human capital and sustainable national development.

APC Deputy National Women Leader, Zainab Ibrahim, urged the beneficiaries to make prudent and judicious use of the grants, drawing a popular analogy about self-sufficiency. The District Head of Karomajiji, Yunusa Bako, thanked the First Lady for the intervention while also appealing for further assistance in the areas of road infrastructure and community development.