BY EVELYN ZORZOR
A total of 500 women in Delta State have been economically empowered by the wife of the President, Sen Oluremi Tinubu, under the umbrella of her Renewed Hope Initiative.
The nation’s First Lady, in collaboration with the Office of the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), yesterday flagged off the distribution of empowerment items to 2,500 women in the South-South geopolitical zone at the Cenotaph, Asaba.
Represented by the wife of the state Deputy Governor, Ezinne Catherine Onyeme, the wife of the President affirmed that the distributed items were aimed at equipping Nigerian women with the necessary tools and resources needed to build successful businesses and contribute to the prosperity of the nation.
According to her, “A total of 18,500 women across the six geopolitical zones are to benefit from the empowerment. These women will be provided with items such as deep chest freezers, maxi gas cookers with ovens, generators, and industrial grinding machines.”
Addressing the beneficiaries, she said, “I encourage you to use these resources judiciously to grow your businesses. Let these items serve as a foundation for creating a better life for yourselves and your families, and I pray that whatever you receive today will prosper in your hands.”
The State Coordinator of the Renewed Hope Initiative and wife of the State Governor, Deaconess Tobore Oborevwori, represented by the Commissioner for Women Affairs, Community and Social Development, Hon Pat Ajudua, noted that the empowerment programme was not an act of charity but rather an avenue for capacity-building.
According to her, “The empowerment is a crucial support to small businesses and will open doors to financial independence for Delta women. Women, when strengthened and empowered, will be mobilised to contribute meaningfully to the economic landscape of the state and the nation at large.”
In her address, the SSA to the President on SDGs, Adejoke Adefulire, represented by Anih Ndidi, said the programme was about unlocking potential and could not have come at a more appropriate time.
Beneficiaries expressed their appreciation to the nation’s First Lady, pledging unflinching support for the administration of Governor Sheriff Oborevwori, while assuring that the items would be judiciously used.
