Abakaliki, Nigeria – The Federal government has provided 500 women entrepreneurs and small-scale traders in Ebonyi state with empowerment tools to expand their businesses.
The initiative was facilitated by the Senior Special Assistant (SSA) to the President on Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), Mrs Adejoke Orelope-Adefulire, and the Renewed Hope Initiative (RHI), led by First Lady Senator Oluremi Tinubu.
In a message to the beneficiaries, Mrs Orelope-Adefulire, said that the initiative was to expand economic opportunities for indigent women.
Orelope-Adefulire, represented by Mrs Ifeyinwa Ukaegbu, Director Planning, Monitoring and Evaluation Department of the office, added that the empowerment was to help the women generate incomes to support their families and uplift local communities.
She noted that Mrs Tinubu is passionate and focused on giving women the practical support needed to put their skills to work and strengthen their businesses.
She added that since the commencement of the empowerment initiative, the wife of the president had continued to support livelihoods to create great economic opportunities for the women and their families.
She said the tools are made up of standard cooking gas, industry grinding machines, deep freezers, generation sets and many other tools.
She declared: “We recognise women economic empowerment as an important accelerator of sustainable development.
“The intervention speaks of sustainable development goals aimed at enriching women and guaranteeing gender equity, among other goals.”
Orelope-Adefulire commended women for their economic contributions and urged them to put the tools provided to productive use.
In her keynote address, Mrs. Tinubu said the beneficiaries were lucky.
Mrs Tinubu, represented by Mrs Uzoamaka Nwifuru, wife of the Ebonyi state governor, said that women’s access to the right tools and resources could make a difference in turning their skills into sustainable sources of income.
She stated that the intervention sought to support more women as they build, grow and become economically stronger.
According to Mrs. Tinubu, “We look forward to seeing the impact of these opportunities on the lives of the women who will benefit from them, and the new possibilities these resources will help to create.”
Mrs Nwifuru, represented by Mrs Felicia Nwakpuma, the state Commissioner for women affairs and social development, said the state had aligned with the empowerment initiative to support women in the state.
Mrs. Chinyere Nwode and Monica Ogbuji, both beneficiaries of the programme, thanked the president and his wife for the upliftment and pledged a proper utilisation of the tools.
