First Lady Oluremi Tinubu, has defended her previous views on small-scale busineses, claiming that the Federal Government’s empowerment programs expand beyond akara sellers to include dealers in tomatoes, peppers, vegetables, and roasted plantain
Tinubu spoke on Monday during the inauguration of the newly built Abubakar Maje Haruna Hall at the Emir of Hadejia’s Palace in Jigawa State, according to a video broadcast by TVC News.
Her words come just days after she received massive outrage on social media for comments she made about akara, roasted corn, and kuli-kuli companies, with many Nigerians accusing her of trivializing the country’s economic suffering.
Addressing the issue directly, the First Lady stated that the federal government had provided N100 million to the Jigawa State Government to empower 2,000 minor traders in the state.
“Because of the atmosphere and what is going on, I’ve told Her Excellency that we’ve already given and 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 booleans, and those are also selling pepper and 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.
Tinubu stated that the beneficiaries would each receive N50,000 to recapitalize their businesses.
“We continue to carry the capacity. We have the number of 2,000 women who are already in small businesses. They will recapitalize their businesses with the N50,000 each. We’ve already given the N100 million,” she added.
She stressed that the criticism trailing her earlier remarks would not deter the government from its empowerment programs.
“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,” Mrs. Tinubu said.
The First Lady also discussed Nigeria’s latent riches, highlighting an orange orchard she visited in Benue State, and expressed optimism that young Nigerians will go beyond oil.
“Nigeria is a really blessed country. I’ve been traveling, 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.
