Nigeria’s First Lady, Sen. Oluremi Tinubu, has distributed food items worth millions of naira to vulnerable groups in Sokoto State under the Renewed Hope Initiative (RHI) Food Outreach Scheme.
Speaking during a symbolic presentation in Sokoto on Thursday, Mrs Tinubu, represented by the Wife of the Vice President, Hajiya Nana Shettima, said the donation aimed to support persons with disabilities and low-income families.
She lauded donors for sustaining the monthly scheme, which she said had significantly eased hardship for thousands of vulnerable households across Nigeria by supplying two truckloads of food items every month.
According to her, the Abdul Samad Rabiu Africa Initiative is a major partner in the programme, while another donor has chosen to remain anonymous but remains consistent in their monthly contributions.
“So far, we have reached 17 states, and the progress has been tremendous.
“Bayelsa will be the next beneficiary of this initiative in the coming weeks.
“States that have already benefitted include Abia, Anambra, Benue, Cross River, Delta, Edo, Ekiti, Enugu, Gombe, Kano, Kaduna, Kogi, Kwara, Lagos, Nasarawa, Oyo, and Plateau,” she said.
She also announced that more empowerment projects would be rolled out before the end of the year, in line with the RHI Agenda of President Bola Tinubu’s administration.
The First Lady highlighted that the Women’s Economic Empowerment Programme had supported thousands of women with N50,000 each, reaching 500 women per state, in partnership with the Elumelu Foundation.
She disclosed plans to launch the Flow With Confidence initiative on Oct. 2, which would provide sanitary pads to 370,000 schoolgirls nationwide to support their school attendance during menstruation.
In her remarks, the Wife of the Sokoto State Governor, Dr Fatima Aliyu, described the initiative as timely and impactful, saying it would greatly improve the welfare of the less privileged in the state.
She added that Sokoto State supported the RHI food outreach by donating 1,500 bags of millet, 1,500 bags of maize, 1,200 bags of rice, and N10,000 each to 3,000 beneficiaries.
Dr Aliyu also outlined other interventions, including recapitalisation for 1,500 women traders, aid for 500 elderly citizens, and N500,000 empowerment packages for 20 female farmers in the state.
On education, she noted the distribution of 50,000 exercise books, as well as scholarship awards and ICT training opportunities for female students and women across Sokoto State.
“These interventions have brought meaningful relief to many households in Sokoto.
“We remain deeply grateful to our dear mother, the First Lady of Nigeria,” she added.
Also speaking, Mr Ubon Udoh, Managing Director of the Abdul Samad Rabiu Initiative for Africa, commended the Renewed Hope Initiative for its direct and people-centered community support efforts.
“Thank you for creating this platform to serve Nigerians and, in this case, the people of Sokoto. Your impact is both visible and commendable,” Udoh stated.
He applauded the commitment of Alhaji Abdul Samad Rabiu, Chairman of BUA Group, whose foundation, ASR Africa, had committed100 million dollars annually since 2021 to health, education, and development projects. (NAN)
