The First Lady, Senator Oluremi Tinubu, at the weekend gave 500 women in Ekiti State N50,000 each under the Renewed Hope Initiative (RHI) Economic Empowerment Programme.
Mrs. Tinubu, who was represented by the wife of Ekiti State governor and State Coordinator of RHI, Dr. Olayemi Oyebanji, explained that the Women Economic Empowerment programme was in conjunction with the Tony Elumelu Foundation.
The First Lady urged the beneficiaries to make judicious use of the funds, stressing that the gesture was not a loan but a grant as well as a seed of renewed hope to recapitalise their businesses.
“I thank the Tony Elumelu Foundation, which donated N1 billion to the Renewed Hope Initiative, to directly support 18,500 women across the country.
“Five hundred women from each of the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) will be receiving N50,000 each to strengthen and capitalise their existing small businesses,” she said.
In her goodwill message, Ekiti State Deputy Governor Monisade Afuye said the gesture would go a long way in assisting the beneficiaries, especially under the current economic situation. The representative of Tony Elumelu Foundation, Mrs. Moyosade Fakunle, told the gathering that the empowerment would be continuous.
She assured those who did not benefit from last weekend’s outing that they would eventually get theirs.
Some of the beneficiaries expressed appreciation to Senator Tinubu and urged the organisers to continue evolving programmes and policies that would ameliorate the sufferings of the masses.
Ekiti State Commissioner for Trade, Industry, Investment and Cooperatives, Mrs. Tayo Adeola, and the House of Assembly Speaker, Bolaji Olagbaju, praised the First Lady for what they called a timely empowerment.
The RHI is the flagship social intervention programme of the First Lady’s office. It focuses on economic empowerment, health, education, agriculture, and social welfare.
The Nation/John Micheal
