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From Aloysius Attah, Onitsha
No fewer than two hundred and fifty persons living with disabilities in Anambra State have been empowered with the sum of two hundred thousand naira each to support their existing small businesses.
The programme, powered by the Renewed Hope Initiative (RHI) of Nigeria’s First Lady, Senator Oluremi Tinubu, under the RHI Economic Empowerment Programme, provides financial assistance to persons with disabilities across the country to recapitalise their businesses.
The annual event was launched simultaneously across the 36 states of Nigeria and the FCT, including for members of the Police Officers’ Wives Association, and will see a total of 9,500 PWDs across Nigeria benefit from the programme’s total fund of one billion, nine hundred million naira.
Delivering the president’s wife’s address, the wife of the Governor of Anambra State, Dr (Mrs) Nonye Soludo, represented by the Deputy Governor’s wife, Lady Oluchi Ibezim, said the programme aligns with the Renewed Hope Agenda of President Bola Tinubu, which seeks to promote inclusive growth and shared prosperity by ensuring that no Nigerian is left behind, especially those whose needs are often overlooked.
Senator Tinubu revealed that over the past two years, the RHI has supported more than one hundred thousand women petty traders and small business owners, including persons with disabilities, with direct financial grants to grow their businesses.
The RHI National Chairman also added that the RHI Social Investment Programmes have provided financial and material support to victims of floods, communal clashes, and disasters, as well as to the elderly, widows, and orphans of fallen heroes, adding that through the RHI Monthly Food Outreach Scheme, it has so far delivered food items to 22 states and the FCT.
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Earlier in his remarks, the Anambra State Commissioner for Health, Dr Afam Obidike, said the event demonstrates the commitment of the Anambra First Lady to ensuring that Anambra people are not denied any economic empowerment programme from the federal government.
He encouraged the beneficiaries to make good use of the grants to better their lives, reminding them that the funds can become a seed that will produce sources of livelihood for them if properly appropriated.
On her part, the Commissioner for Women and Social Welfare, Mrs Ify Obinabo, said that the show of love by the First Lady reinforces the call on PWDs to continue to strive to achieve their life ambitions, irrespective of whatever physical disability they may have.
In a goodwill message, the Anambra State Chairman of the Joint National Association of Persons With Disabilities (JONAPWD), Comrade Ugochukwu Okeke, appreciated the implementation of financial support for PWDs, which he described as a compassionate programme of Senator Tinubu, effectively implemented in the state by the governor’s wife.
He encouraged association members who received the support to demonstrate through their actions that empowerment yields impact when used responsibly.
