The First Lady, Senator Oluremi Tinubu has defended her earlier remarks about small-scale businesses, saying the Federal Government’s empowerment programmes go beyond akara sellers to include traders dealing in tomatoes, pepper, vegetables and roasted plantain.
She made the remarks on Monday during the inauguration of the newly built Abubakar Maje Haruna Hall at the Emir of Hadejia’s Palace in Jigawa.
Her clarification comes days after comments about akara, roasted corn and kuli-kuli businesses sparked criticism on social media, with many Nigerians accusing her of downplaying the country’s economic hardship.
Responding to the backlash, the First Lady said the Federal Government had already provided ₦100 million to the Jigawa State Government to support 2,000 petty traders.
“Because of the atmosphere, what is going on, I’ve told Her Excellency that we’ve already given, donated about 100 million to her to use to empower 2,000 petty traders.
“And I know they’ve been talking that I said akara. It’s not only akara, we also have tomato sellers. We have boole, and those also selling pepper, selling vegetables for us in the market.
“We will continue to empower them and add to their resources so that their trade can really be sustainable. So that is what we are doing,” she said.
Tinubu explained that each beneficiary would receive ₦50,000 to help strengthen and expand their businesses.
“We continue to carry the capacity. We have the amount of 2,000 women who are already in small businesses. They will recapitalise their businesses with the N50,000 each. We’ve already given the N100 million,” she added.
She insisted that criticism over her earlier comments would not stop the government’s empowerment initiatives.
“I know all those people who are affected, they do appreciate it. And we are not intimidated by all those wrong reports. But we are forging ahead and making sure that our people, you know, are well cared for,” Mrs Tinubu said.
The First Lady also spoke on Nigeria’s untapped economic potential, citing an orange orchard she visited in Benue, and encouraged young Nigerians to look beyond oil for opportunities.
“Nigeria is a really blessed country. I’ve been travelling, and I pray that our young people will see the resources we have in this nation. We have not even gone to explore yet because we are thinking it’s oil. But there are so many things,” she said.