By Nkechinyere Ewa
The wife of the President, Senator Oluremi Tinubu, has empowered 500 indigent women in Ebonyi State with various business equipment to enable them establish new businesses and strengthen existing enterprises.
The empowerment items, distributed under the Renewed Hope Initiative (RHI), included deep freezers, gas cookers with ovens, power generators and industrial grinding machines.
Presenting the items in Abakaliki on behalf of the First Lady, the wife of the Ebonyi State Governor, Mrs Mary-Maudline Nwifuru, said the initiative was being implemented simultaneously across the five South-East states of Abia, Anambra, Ebonyi, Enugu and Imo.
She said the programme was facilitated through the Office of the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), Princess Adejoke Orelope-Adefulire.
According to her, the initiative is designed to expand economic opportunities for indigent and vulnerable women and strengthen their capacity to contribute meaningfully to their families and communities.
She said 18,000 women would benefit from the nationwide rollout, with 500 beneficiaries selected from each state and the Federal Capital Territory.
“This presentation is taking place across the five states of the zone simultaneously.
“This programme has been made possible through the Office of the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Sustainable Development Goals.
“By the end of the nationwide rollout of this initiative, 18,000 women would have been empowered across the country, with 500 beneficiaries selected from each state and the FCT,” she said.
Mrs Nwifuru urged the beneficiaries to use the equipment judiciously, stressing that the gesture was intended to provide sustainable means of livelihood rather than temporary assistance.
She said the programme was in line with the Renewed Hope agenda of President Bola Tinubu, particularly its focus on improving the economic well-being of women and recognising their strategic role in nation-building.
Also speaking, the representative of the Senior Special Assistant to the President on SDGs, Dr Ify Ukaegbu, warned the beneficiaries against selling the items, noting that the equipment was provided to help them build sustainable businesses.
Some of the beneficiaries, Anyigor Sandra from Ikwo Local Government Area, and Uguru Ijeoma Nwiboko from Oferekpe Agbaja Izzi expressed gratitude to the First Lady for the gesture.
Ijeoma, who received an industrial grinding machine, said the equipment would help her establish and grow her business.
While Ms Anyigor Sandracommended Mrs Nwifuru for her various empowerment initiatives targeted at women in Ebonyi State.
According to her, the empowerment had given the beneficiaries renewed hope and an opportunity to become economically self-reliant.
Sandra and other beneficiaries also pledged their support for President Tinubu and Governor Francis Nwifuru ahead of the 2027 elections, assuring them of their votes.
She said the women would reciprocate the gesture through their support at the polls, urging other women to obtain their Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs) and participate actively in the electoral process.
“We are very happy with what the First Lady has done for us. The only way Ebonyi women can appreciate this gesture is to continue to support them and vote,” she said.