First Lady Senator Oluremi Tinubu has empowered 5000 vulnerable women across the Southeast with livelihood equipment and other support items saying the country has moved beyond the difficult phase of economic reforms and is now entering an era of prosperity.
The empowerment programme which included the distribution of sewing machines grinding machines popcorn machines and bags of 25kg rice took place at Okpara Square Enugu during the Southeast presidential campaign flag-off of the All Progressives Congress (APC) Women’s Mobilisation Directorate.
The event also gave APC leaders and governors from the region a chance to rally support for President Bola Tinubu’s re-election with the governors describing his administration as one that had already begun creating a new Nigeria through economic reforms infrastructure development and increased resources for states.
Addressing the gathering Mrs Tinubu said Nigerians should remain hopeful insisting that the sacrifices associated with the administration’s economic reforms would give way to improved economic conditions.
‘We’ve finished reforms. Now is the time for prosperity. Don’t let anybody deceive you. The wait is over; we’re stepping into prosperity’ she declared.
Using pregnancy and childbirth to illustrate the country’s economic journey the First Lady said Nigerians had endured the difficult period and were now pushing towards the delivery of prosperity.
‘You know that when a woman is pregnant she will be waiting for the day of delivery. And when the day comes she will be pushing hard to give birth to the baby. That’s the story of Nigeria under my husband’s administration. We’re pushing into prosperity’ she said.
She described the simultaneous conduct of political campaigns and empowerment programmes as evidence that the APC government was committed to translating its promises into tangible benefits for citizens.
‘Have you ever seen people campaigning and empowering citizens at the same time? That is what we’re doing. That is what the APC government is all about. We don’t just talk. We walk our talk’ she said.
Mrs Tinubu thanked the people of the Southeast for their support and affection recalling that she had received four traditional chieftaincy titles from communities in the region.
She assured Nigerian women that they would not suffer under her husband’s administration promising to continue advocating their interests.
The First Lady also announced plans to empower 250 persons with disabilities in each senatorial district across the country on December 3 to mark World Disability Day with each beneficiary receiving N200000.
She said the initiative would provide 750 beneficiaries in each state with financial assistance adding that another 250 elderly persons would benefit from an empowerment programme scheduled for December 17.
Mrs Tinubu urged the women to mobilise support for President Tinubu and all APC candidates in the January 16 2027 elections including governorship senatorial House of Representatives and State Assembly candidates.
Governor Hope Uzodimma of Imo State said the Southeast had suffered marginalisation underdevelopment and poverty since the Nigerian Civil War but was now witnessing a different development trajectory under President Tinubu.
He said the President had expanded the scope of development in the country pointing to improvements in roads electricity drinking water and educational opportunities across the region.
Uzodimma said the governors had collectively reviewed the President’s performance and concluded that his administration was delivering on its promises.
‘We have looked at our leadership level. We have reviewed the performance of President Bola Tinubu at our leadership level. We concluded that there is a new Nigeria. And that new Nigeria is working’ he declared.
He cited the increased resources available to states under the Tinubu administration as a major factor enabling his government to execute several road projects in Imo State including the Okigwe-Owerri Umuahia-Owerri Owerri-Orlu and Owerri-Port Harcourt roads.
The governor also highlighted the empowerment of 5000 vulnerable women describing it as evidence that the President’s promise of prosperity was not empty.
Governor Peter Mbah of Enugu State described the First Lady’s visit as a homecoming saying the empowerment programme aimed to transform women into independent wealth creators.
Mbah said that more than 2000 women had been empowered in Enugu State within the preceding 48 hours adding that the latest intervention was part of a broader initiative targeting 5000 women across the Southeast.
He said the equipment distributed would enable beneficiaries to establish businesses generate income and support their families.
‘We don’t want to be giving you fish all the time; we want you to be fishers as well. And that’s why today is very important’ he said.
The governor maintained that the economic reforms of the Tinubu administration had made more resources available to state governments to invest in critical sectors including education healthcare and infrastructure.
He cited Enugu’s Smart Green Schools and Type-2 Primary Healthcare Centres as visible outcomes of the increased resources available to the state.
Mbah urged Nigerians to sustain the development trajectory insisting that the country could not abandon its journey because of the challenges associated with reforms.
‘A good captain does not abandon his ship mid-sea because of challenges. So we must finish the journey we all started together’ he said.
Ebonyi State Governor Francis Nwifuru and his Anambra counterpart Professor Chukwuma Soludo represented by his deputy Dr Onyekachukwu Ibezim also aligned with the Southeast governors’ position on Tinubu’s administration.
Ibezim said Soludo sent him to welcome the First Lady explaining that progressive leaders across the country were working together because of what he described as the President’s performance.
He urged the people of the Southeast to support Tinubu’s second-term ambition saying the region should sustain its cooperation with the Federal Government.
Nwifuru who also commended the President’s commitment to the development of the Southeast has repeatedly described the ongoing federal infrastructure projects in the region as evidence that Tinubu is rewriting the region’s development history.
The Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives Benjamin Kalu also praised the President for what he described as his inclusive disposition towards the Igbo particularly the establishment of the South East Development Commission (SEDC).
Kalu said the President had demonstrated goodwill towards Ndigbo recalling his record as Lagos governor and his inclusion of an Igbo person in his cabinet.
He dismissed suggestions that the Southeast should accept a four-year presidential arrangement insisting that the region would seek an eight-year tenure when it eventually produces a Nigerian president.
Speaking on behalf of the wives of the Southeast governors Enugu State First Lady Mrs Nkechinyere Iheoma Mbah commended Senator Tinubu for prioritising women’s economic empowerment and supporting vulnerable households.
She said the interventions would strengthen women’s capacity to contribute meaningfully to their families and communities while encouraging beneficiaries to use the items provided productively.
The wife of the Senate President Mrs Unoma Godswill Akpabio also urged Nigerians to appreciate the achievements of the Tinubu administration insisting that the country was in good hands.
Minister of State for Finance Doris Uzoka-Anite said women’s empowerment remained a major priority of the President adding that several women had been lifted out of poverty through programmes pursued by the administration.
She described Tinubu as a leader committed to creating economic opportunities for Nigerian women.
The event attracted political leaders government officials APC stakeholders and thousands of women from Enugu Abia Anambra Ebonyi and Imo states.