NEWS
Wife of Abia State Gov. Mrs. Priscilla Otti Flags-Off Sen. Oluremi Tinubu’s Empowerment Programme for Abia Women
The Wife of the Abia State Governor, Mrs. Priscilla Otti, has represented the Wife of the President, Senator Oluremi Tinubu, at the flag-off of the distribution of business equipment to 2,500 women across the five states of the Southeast under the Renewed Hope Initiative Economic Empowerment Programme.
The empowerment exercise, which was simultaneously launched in Abia, Anambra, Ebonyi, Enugu and Imo states, saw 500 women in each state receive business equipment aimed at helping them establish new ventures, strengthen existing businesses and achieve greater economic independence.
The beneficiaries received various items, including deep freezers, gas cookers with ovens, generators and industrial grinding machines, providing practical support for women engaged in different forms of small-scale enterprise.
At the flag-off ceremony in Umuahia, Mrs. Priscilla Otti, who represented Senator Oluremi Tinubu, said the initiative was designed to provide vulnerable women with the necessary tools to become economically productive and self-reliant.
She explained that the nationwide programme, implemented through the Office of the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Sustainable Development Goals, Princess Adejoke Orelope-Adefulire, is targeting 18,500 women across the 36 states of the federation and the Federal Capital Territory.
The initiative recognises the significant contribution of women to nation-building and forms part of the economic empowerment component of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda, with emphasis on inclusivity, economic growth and sustainable development.
The beneficiaries were urged to make judicious and productive use of the equipment, grow their businesses and turn the intervention into sustainable sources of income for themselves and their families.
The Senior Special Assistant to the President on SDGs, Princess Orelope-Adefulire, disclosed that 9,500 women had already benefited from the programme across the North-Central, South-South and South-West geopolitical zones.
She noted that the beneficiaries were largely selected from vulnerable groups, including widows, wives of fallen heroes and indigent women.
Orelope-Adefulire encouraged the beneficiaries to maximise the opportunity provided by the programme by putting the equipment to productive use, expanding their businesses and creating sustainable livelihoods.
In Abia, the State Commissioner for Women Affairs, Dr. Maureen Aghukwa, commended Senator Oluremi Tinubu and Mrs. Priscilla Otti for their commitment to women’s empowerment and for ensuring that the intervention reached women at the grassroots.
The initiative is expected to provide a significant boost to women-led businesses across the Southeast while strengthening household incomes, encouraging entrepreneurship and expanding opportunities for vulnerable women to become econ
omically independent.