Since assumption of office on May 29, 2023 as Nigeria’s First Lady, Senator Oluremi Tinubu has been traversing the country and making donations to different groups.
Sometimes, the donations were under the platform of her pet project, the Renewed Hope Initiative, and at other times, in her personal capacity. So far, she has made donations totaling N2.504 billion, Weekend Trust gathered.
The latest was the sum of N1 billion she donated to the Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU), Ile-Ife, for horticultural landscape to restore the beauty of the university environment.
Recalling the beautiful landscape on the campus while she was a student, the First Lady said, “I will donate N1 billion for the OAU horticultural landscape to be restored. The campus used to be beautiful while I was here. Ife is crying out for help. It used to be a beautiful campus and the beauty must be restored.”
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She blamed poor maintenance culture for the erosion of the beautiful landscape on the university.
Before then, Mrs Tinubu had donated N500 million to the victims of the recent flood disaster in Maiduguri, Borno State, which affected over two million residents. The First Lady made the donation through the wife of the Vice President, Nana Kashim Shettima.
Under her Renewed Hope Initiative, the First Lady also presented N50 million empowerment grant to 1,000 female petty traders in Nasarawa State. The First Lady of the state, Hajiya Silifat Sule, presented the empowerment grant to the women, cutting across the 13 local government areas on behalf of Senator Oluremi Tinubu at the Government House, Lafia.
Speaking at the event, tagged, “Renewed Hope Initiative Economic Empowerment Programme Recapitalisation Grants for 1,000 Women Petty Traders”, the First Lady said the women of Nasarawa State should make good use of the opportunity.
It was the same scenario in Kaduna State, where the First Lady also provided N50 million in grants to 1,000 female petty traders as part of an economic empowerment initiative.
Represented by the wife of the Deputy Senate President, Laila Jibrin Barau, she said the support was designed to significantly uplift local women entrepreneurs, emphasising government’s dedication to economic empowerment.
She said the grants formed a segment of a larger N1.8 billion initiative under the Renewed Hope Initiative Economic Empowerment Programme, which aims to reach 37,000 women petty traders across the country.
Edo State was not left out as the First Lady disbursed N50 million as business grants to 1,000 women in the state.
The First Lady said the move was a demonstration of federal government’s commitment to grassroots economic empowerment. At the last count, a total of N50 million was distributed, with each beneficiary receiving a grant of N50,000.
Delivering Senator Tinubu’s message at the occasion, Betsy Obaseki, the Edo First Lady, emphasised that the initiative was part of a broader nationwide programme aimed at supporting 37,000 women across all the 36 states in the country and the Federal Capital Territory.
The goal, she said, was to provide financial backing to small and medium enterprises, particularly those run by women, who are often the backbone of local economies.
In Abuja, following a flood mishap at TradeMore Estate, Lugbe, the First Lady came through for those affected through her Renewed Hope Initiative project and donated some items to them, as well as N250,000 cash to each of the 57 affected households.
Speaking while making the donation, Senator Tinubu, represented by the wife of the Vice President, Hajiya Nana Shettima, expressed sympathy over the unfortunate incident.
In a statement by her special adviser on media, the First Lady noted that she could not turn the other eye under the present circumstances of the TradeMore Estate.
In Plateau State, the wife of the president also donated N500 million to 500 families, following the crisis. Beneficiaries were drawn from six local government areas.
Senator Tinubu, who was in Jos, the state capital to commiserate with victims, encouraged them not to lose hope as her husband and other stakeholders worked to ensure enduring peace in the troubled communities.
She expressed worry over the crisis that bedevilled the state, explaining that she was concerned when she learnt about destruction of lives and property.
The president’s wife noted that the gesture was her way of supporting the affected families with shelter and other essential needs.
Still on donations, the wife of the president, disbursed N70 million to 140 women farmers in the North-west region.
Twenty women in agriculture from the seven states in the zone went home with N500,000 each, it was gathered.
The money was disbursed under the Renewed Hope Initiative Women Agricultural Support Programme of the First Lady, Federal Republic of Nigeria.
Similarly, she disbursed N100,000 each to 100 persons living with disabilities in the region.
At the ceremony in Birnin Kebbi, Senator Tinubu said the maiden edition of the scheme was launched in February this year, adding that it was aimed at encouraging women farmers to grow more food in line with the agricultural agenda of the Tinubu administration.
There was also a separate donation to 1,000 traders in Kebbi, with each getting N50,000, totaling N50 million.
Also, the first lady visited Owerri, the Imo State capital, where she flagged off the South-east Renewed Hope Initiative.
The initiative was aimed at empowering women in the rural areas through agricultural activities and social investment programmes.
At the event, 20 female farmers from the five South-east states, received funds to aid their agro businesses. The wives of the five South-eastern governors received a cheque of N10 million each on behalf of the female farmers.
Speaking at the ceremony, Senator Tinubu, said the Renewed Hope Initiative model is driven by pure commitment to empower the human capital strength of the country and open up lasting economic opportunities for women, people with disabilities and the indigent.
Weekend Trust reports that the donations by the First Lady were not limited to Nigeria as she also extended the gesture to Sierra Leone, where she donated $100,000 towards the construction of a hospital. The equivalent of the sum was N150 million (using the dollar to naira exchange rate in February when the donation was made).
The donation, according to a press statement by Nigerians in the Diaspora, Sierra Leone chapter (NIDO, SL), is in fulfillment of her pledge towards the construction of a first-class medical centre for Nigerians in that country.
The president of the NIDO in Sierra Leone, Abiodun Oyebola, an engineer, had requested her support due to the urgent need for a medical centre as a result of the dilapidated state of health care facilities in Sierra Leone, it was gathered.
The organisation said the medical centre, when completed would go a long way in addressing the medical needs of over 40,000 Nigerians in Sierra Leone and no doubt complement the efforts of President Julius Maada Bio at closing the gap in the country’s health sector.
On the N1.8 billion promised by the First Lady for 37,000 women across the 36 states and Abuja, Weekend Trust
could not verify if the funds had been disbursed across the states. Only three states of Edo, Nasarawa and Kaduna were captured in this report.
Meanwhile, some Nigerians have been speaking on the donations and the source of the money since the office of the First Lady is not officially recognised by the constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, therefore, does not receive statutory funding.
The deputy national youth leader the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Tim Osadolor, told Weekend Trust that the First Lady should tell Nigerians where she is getting the money from and whether it is budgeted for or not. He warned that money should not be dispensed without anyone giving account of it, and asked the Independent Corrupt Practices and other Related Offenses Commission (ICPC) to invite the First Lady to tell Nigerians the source of the money she is donating.
He said, “I am not aware that there is any provision in the constitution for the office of the First Lady, and because of that, there is no budgetary provision. So, where is the allocation she is donating coming from that she is dishing out money.
“In a sane clime, we expect that the ICPC would have invited her to tell Nigerians her source of funding. If it is coming from the Presidential Villa, we should know. Issues of misappropriation need to be raised.
“You can’t be making such donations and Nigerians would not know exactly what is happening. As it stands, if she is happy, she can give N1 billion, and if she is not too happy, she donates N500 million.
“People must ask questions and get answers because this is public fund. That Mr A did it and got away does not mean that it has become the norm. Hunger in the land is biting hard and this money can be put to better use instead of one person dishing it out at will”.
‘How we source the funds’
When contacted on the source and motivation for the donations, Special Adviser to the First Lady on Media, Busola Kukoyi, said, “the motivation behind the First Lady’s donations is her increasing love for humanity and she believes that the most important thing is to build human beings and she feels the donations will affect human lives directly. She is a lover of humanity and that is what she has been doing all her life.
“Many of the donations are under her Renewed Hope Initiative and on the source of funding, there is a governing board for the initiative where we have reputable men and women from all over the country. Also, there are friends of the Renewed Hope Initiative that believe in the course of what she is doing.
“Well-meaning Nigerians are on the governing board and of course it is in the public space. Reputable business men and men of means, with credibility, they have been the ones donating to the Renewed Hope Initiative”.
