By Hadiza Mohammed, Northern Operation
Nigeria’s First Lady, Oluremi Tinubu, has defended her controversial comments on small-scale businesses, insisting that the Federal Government’s empowerment initiatives are not limited to akara sellers but also cover thousands of other petty traders across the country.
Speaking on Monday during the inauguration of the newly constructed Abubakar Maje Haruna Hall at the Emir of Hadejia’s Palace in Jigawa State, the First Lady said the administration remained committed to supporting low-income entrepreneurs despite the backlash that followed her earlier remarks.
According to a video broadcast by TVC News, Mrs Tinubu disclosed that the Federal Government had released ₦100 million to the Jigawa State Government to empower 2,000 petty traders, with each beneficiary receiving ₦50,000 to recapitalise their businesses.
Responding to criticism over her previous reference to akara sellers, she clarified that the intervention targets a broad range of informal traders.
“Because of the atmosphere, what is going on, I’ve told Her Excellency that we’ve already given, donated about ₦100 million to her to use to empower 2,000 petty traders.
“And I know they’ve been talking that I said akara. It’s not only akara, we also have tomato sellers. We have boole, and those also selling pepper, selling vegetables for us in the market.
“We will continue to empower them and add to their resources so that their trade can really be sustainable. So that is what we are doing,” she said.
Mrs Tinubu explained that the beneficiaries had already been identified and would use the grants to strengthen their existing businesses.
“We continue to carry the capacity. We have the amount of 2,000 women who are already in small businesses. They will recapitalise their businesses with the ₦50,000 each. We’ve already given the ₦100 million,” she added.
The First Lady maintained that public criticism would not discourage the government from pursuing its empowerment programmes, insisting that those directly benefiting from the initiative appreciated the intervention.
“I know all those people who are affected, they do appreciate it. And we are not intimidated by all those wrong reports. But we are forging ahead and making sure that our people, you know, are well cared for,” she said.
Mrs Tinubu also urged young Nigerians to take advantage of the country’s vast natural resources beyond crude oil, recalling a visit to an orange orchard in Benue State as evidence of Nigeria’s untapped agricultural potential.
“Nigeria is a really blessed country. I’ve been travelling, and I pray that our young people will see the resources we have in this nation. We have not even gone to explore yet because we are thinking it’s oil. But there are so many things,” she said.
