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From Juliana Taiwo-Obalonye, Abuja
SENATOR Oluremi Tinubu, has unveiled a N110 million empowerment package for elderly citizens and persons with disabilities in each participating senatorial district, with a directive to All Progressives Congress (APC) senatorial candidates to ensure that the assistance reaches vulnerable Nigerians irrespective of their political, religious or ethnic affiliations.
The intervention, announced on Thursday under the Renewed Hope Initiative (RHI), comes as the First Lady’s monthly food relief programme reached Ogun State, the 32nd state to benefit from the distribution of food items to persons with disabilities, widows and other vulnerable Nigerians, with Akwa Ibom State scheduled to benefit next.
According to a statement by her media aide, Busola Kukoyi, the N110 million package comprises N55 million each for the Economic Empowerment Programme for Persons with Disabilities and the Elderly Support Scheme, with both programmes targeting 250 beneficiaries per senatorial district, who are expected to receive N200,000 each.
Mrs. Tinubu announced the package at a stakeholders’ meeting attended by Senate President Godswill Akpabio, APC National Chairman Nentawe Yilwatda, serving senators, senatorial candidates and members of the RHI governing board.
She explained that the decision to involve APC senatorial candidates followed consultations with political leaders on the most effective means of identifying vulnerable citizens and coordinating the distribution of assistance across constituencies.
The First Lady, however, warned the candidates against restricting the intervention to APC supporters, insisting that deserving Nigerians should not be denied assistance because of their political or religious affiliations.
“We don’t say give it only to party members, but give it to your voters. The vulnerable in society are the people we are supposed to care for,” she told the candidates.
Mrs Tinubu said the intervention was part of her longstanding commitment to supporting disadvantaged Nigerians, noting that the RHI had previously provided assistance to persons with disabilities, while the Elderly Support Scheme was entering its fourth edition.
She explained that the senatorial district model was adopted after considering alternative distribution channels, including state coordinators and traditional rulers, expressing confidence that the arrangement would strengthen coordination, improve public awareness and facilitate the identification of deserving beneficiaries.
The First Lady disclosed that the financial support programme for persons with disabilities would be implemented on December 3 to commemorate the International Day of Persons with Disabilities, while the Elderly Support Scheme was scheduled for December 17.
Speaking at the meeting, Akpabio commended Mrs Tinubu for bringing serving senators and APC senatorial candidates together to coordinate the intervention, disclosing that President Bola Tinubu had approved the arrangement.
He urged the candidates to regard their involvement as a public trust and ensure that the assistance reached its intended beneficiaries, while encouraging them to collaborate with other APC political office-seekers to broaden the programme’s reach.
Akpabio said the Renewed Hope Initiative had, over the past three years, supported displaced communities, vulnerable households and women across the country, describing the latest intervention as another effort to address the needs of disadvantaged Nigerians.
Speaker of the House of Representatives, Tajudeen Abbas, also commended the First Lady’s humanitarian interventions, disclosing that the RHI monthly Food Outreach Programme had reached 31 states before its latest distribution in Ogun.
He expressed confidence that involving senatorial candidates in the empowerment programme would strengthen their engagement with constituents and help identify those most in need of assistance.
Similarly, APC National Chairman, Nentawe Yilwatda, urged the candidates to work with party structures and relevant stakeholders in identifying beneficiaries, while ensuring that ethnicity, religion and political affiliation did not influence the selection process.
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Meanwhile, the Renewed Hope Initiative has extended its monthly food relief programme to persons with disabilities, widows and other vulnerable residents of Ogun State, bringing the number of states covered by the intervention to 32.
The programme, supported by the Abdul Samad Rabiu Africa Initiative (ASR Africa) and an anonymous donor, provides two truckloads of assorted food items monthly for distribution to vulnerable Nigerians through the wives of state governors, who serve as RHI coordinators.
The food items were presented in Abeokuta, the Ogun State capital, by the wife of the Vice President, Hajiya Nana Shettima, who represented the First Lady at the event.
Mrs. Tinubu said the intervention reflected the initiative’s commitment to providing nutritional support to vulnerable Nigerians in line with President Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda.
She commended Ogun State Governor, Dapo Abiodun, and his wife, Bamidele Abiodun, for supporting the initiative and implementing programmes aimed at improving the welfare of vulnerable residents.
The First Lady also disclosed that Akwa Ibom State would be the next beneficiary of the monthly food distribution programme.
Speaking at the presentation, Governor Abiodun said the welfare of vulnerable citizens must remain central to public policy, stressing that persons living with disabilities and those facing difficult economic circumstances deserved opportunities to participate fully in society.
“Vulnerability does not diminish an individual’s capacity or worth and should never be a basis for exclusion,” the governor declared.
He called for broader measures to strengthen food security and economic opportunities, particularly through modern agricultural practices, food processing, marketing and rural enterprise development.
According to him, sustained investment in agriculture and related economic activities would help improve food availability, create employment and strengthen the capacity of households to meet their needs.
T Ogun State First Lady, Bamidele Abiodun, described the intervention as practical assistance to vulnerable families, saying the food supplies would provide relief to beneficiaries and support their welfare.
She expressed appreciation to Mrs Tinubu and the initiative’s development partners for extending the programme to Ogun State.
Also speaking, Managing Director of ASR Africa, Ubon Udoh, reaffirmed the organisation’s commitment to supporting vulnerable communities through partnerships designed to improve living conditions and promote social development.
Udoh disclosed that ASR Africa had an annual intervention budget of $100 million, with 50 per cent earmarked for Nigeria, adding that its collaboration with the Renewed Hope Initiative formed part of efforts to extend assistance to disadvantaged communities.
He described the partnership as a strategic intervention aimed at improving the lives of vulnerable Nigerians and pledged continued support for the programme.
The food items were subsequently handed over to Mrs Abiodun for distribution to designated beneficiaries across Ogun State.
