No fewer than 500 indigent women has been provided with business equipmenti n Ebonyi State as part of efforts to promote economic self-reliance among vulnerable women by the Renewed Hope Initiative (RHI) of the First Lady of Nigeria, Senator Oluremi Tinubu,
The beneficiaries received items ranging from deep freezers, gas cookers with ovens, power generators and industrial grinding machines during a presentation held in Abakaliki.
Speaking at the event, the wife of the Ebonyi State Governor, Mrs Mary-Maudline Nwifuru, who represented the First Lady, said the empowerment programme was being implemented simultaneously across the five South-East states of Abia, Anambra, Ebonyi, Enugu and Imo.
She explained that the initiative was facilitated through the Office of the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), Princess Adejoke Orelope-Adefulire.
Mrs Nwifuru said the programme was designed to expand economic opportunities for indigent and vulnerable women while enabling them to contribute more effectively to their families and communities.
According to her, about 18,000 women would benefit from the nationwide rollout, with 500 beneficiaries drawn from each state and the Federal Capital Territory.
She urged the beneficiaries to make proper use of the equipment, stressing that the intervention was intended to provide sustainable livelihoods rather than temporary relief.
Also speaking, the representative of the Senior Special Assistant to the President on SDGs, Dr Ify Ukaegbu, cautioned the beneficiaries against selling the items, noting that the equipment was provided to help them establish and grow sustainable businesses.
Two beneficiaries, Anyigor Sandra from Ikwo Local Government Area and Uguru Ijeoma Nwiboko from Oferekpe Agbaja Izzi, expressed appreciation for the intervention. Ijeoma, who received an industrial grinding machine, said the equipment would help her start and expand her business.
Sandra also commended Mrs Nwifuru for her empowerment programmes targeting women in the state, saying the initiative had given the beneficiaries renewed hope and an opportunity to become economically independent.
She said the beneficiaries would reciprocate the gesture by supporting President Bola Tinubu and Governor Francis Nwifuru in the 2027 elections, while urging other women to obtain their Permanent Voter Cards 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.
Post a Comment