The First Lady of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, Sen. Oluremi Tinubu, through her pet project, the Renewed Hope Initiative, has donated fabrics in commercial quantities to support the businesses of women in politics.
Representing the First Lady at the event, the wife of the Vice President, Hajia Nana Shettima, donated the fabrics to boost the businesses of APC women in the textile industry. According to her, the initiative aims to reach those at the grassroots, furthering the First Lady’s belief in empowering women and fostering inclusive economic growth.
The initiative also acknowledges the resilience, creativity, and entrepreneurial spirit of these women. Through her representative, the First Lady emphasized that the gesture is intended to provide women with necessary resources, training, and support to further expand their businesses. Hajia Nana Shettima encouraged the women to be resilient and make good use of the opportunities provided by the current administration.
“We should gather enough courage and be our sisters’ keepers,” she stated. She further implored the women to be judicious in distributing the fabrics to women across the board and assured them that the First Lady is passionate about their success and livelihood, noting that she will be reaching out more to them as time goes on.
Earlier, in his remarks of appreciation, the National Chairman of the All Progressive Congress (APC), Abdullahi Umar Ganduje, advocated for the promotion of financial inclusiveness for women in politics to give them their pride of place in the polity. He also advised the APC women leaders to be fair, honest, and just in distributing the fabrics and not to shortchange the beneficiaries.
“What remains is for you to be honest, transparent, committed, and nationalistic so that the wrappers will go to the target audience,” he said.
Dr. Mary Alile-Idele, APC National Women Leader, in her remarks, thanked the First Lady for her unwavering commitment and dedication to the welfare of the progressive women of Nigeria. She noted that their voices were heard and their needs were being met. She assured the First Lady’s delegation of the unfettered support of the progressive women to the Tinubu/Shettima administration.
The donation event, held at the APC Headquarters in Abuja, had women leaders’ representatives from each geopolitical zone in attendance.