First Lady, Sen. Oluremi Tinubu, has presented N25 million cash support to 500 women entrepreneurs in Ebonyi State to strengthen their businesses.
The event was organised by the Women’s Mobilisation Directorate of the 2027 All Progressives Congress, APC, Presidential Campaign Council on Monday in Abakaliki during an empowerment rally and stakeholders’ engagement,
The News Agency of Nigeria reports that each beneficiary received N50,000 and a wrapper at the event.
The Minister of Women Affairs and Social Development, Mrs Imaan Sulaiman-Ibrahim, said the financial assistance was an additional intervention by the First Lady.
She said the support would enable the beneficiaries to expand their businesses and improve their economic well-being.
Sulaiman-Ibrahim said the delegation had earlier visited Alex Ekwueme Federal University Teaching Hospital, Abakaliki, where it conducted a medical outreach.
She said the outreach targeted pregnant women and nursing mothers as part of efforts to address issues affecting families.
“It is a periodic stakeholders’ engagement. We undertake these programmes to support indigent women,” she said.
The minister said President Bola Tinubu had prioritised women, children and social development in his administration’s policies.
She expressed confidence that the administration would continue to improve the welfare of Nigerian women.
She urged the beneficiaries and other women to sustain their support for the President, saying his administration was committed to giving governance a human face.
Mrs Betta Edu, Director One, Women’s Mobilisation Directorate of the 2027 APC Presidential Campaign Council, described the intervention as part of the First Lady’s empowerment initiatives.
Edu urged women and youths to participate actively in the electoral process and support President Tinubu’s re-election bid.
The Senior Special Assistant to the President on Community Engagement for the South-East, Mrs Chioma Nweze, commended the First Lady for extending additional financial assistance to women.
Nweze said the intervention was particularly timely ahead of the festive season.
She described women as nation builders and encouraged them to mobilise support for the President.
She also urged eligible voters to turn out on election day and exercise their civic responsibility.
Nweze listed improvements in road infrastructure, economic empowerment, healthcare and education among the areas prioritised by the administration.
The Commissioners for Special Projects, Mrs Ngozi Obichukwu, and Agriculture, Mrs Chinyere Iyioku, said women across Ebonyi were mobilising support for President Tinubu and Gov. Francis Nwifuru.
The commissioners expressed confidence that women stakeholders across the local government areas would participate actively in political mobilisation ahead of the 2027 elections.
Other speakers, including Mrs Fortuna Oke and Mrs Elizabeth Ogbaga, thanked the First Lady for consistently prioritising Ebonyi women through her empowerment programmes.
Oke, Coordinator of the Network of Non-Governmental and Civil Society Organisations, Women Network, and Ogbaga, Chairperson of Ebonyi State Health Insurance Agency, said the interventions strengthened women’s sense of belonging.
Speaking on behalf of the beneficiaries, Mrs Mary Chukwu and Mrs Chinyere Linus expressed gratitude to the President and his wife for the financial assistance.
They expressed hope that the intervention would improve their economic conditions.
The beneficiaries described the gesture as significant, noting that it was their first experience of receiving such assistance from the government.
