First Lady Oluremi Tinubu has empowered no fewer than 5,000 vulnerable women in the South-East with economic support packages, declaring that Nigeria is gradually entering an era of prosperity under the current administration.
The distribution, held at Okpara Square in Enugu during the Southeast flag-off of the All Progressives Congress (APC) Women’s Mobilisation Directorate, included sewing machines, grinding machines, popcorn machines and 25-kilogram bags of rice.
“We’ve finished reforms, now is the time for prosperity,” Tinubu told the gathering.
“Don’t let anybody deceive you”, adding “The wait is over; we’re stepping into prosperity”.
Tinubu compared Nigeria’s economic journey to pregnancy and childbirth, saying citizens had endured the difficult period of reform and were now approaching the delivery of prosperity.
“That’s the story of Nigeria under my husband’s administration,” she said.
“We’re pushing into prosperity”, she also said.
She described the simultaneous conduct of campaigns and empowerment programs as evidence that the APC government was turning promises into tangible benefits.
“Have you ever seen people campaigning and empowering citizens at the same time?” she asked.
“We don’t just talk. We walk our talk”, the First Lady said.
The First Lady announced plans to empower 250 people with disabilities in each senatorial district on December 3 to mark World Disability Day, with each beneficiary receiving N200,000.
She said the initiative would reach 750 beneficiaries in each state.
She also announced an empowerment program for 250 elderly people per state, scheduled for December 17.
The First Lady urged women to mobilize support for Tinubu and APC candidates in the January 16, 2027 elections, including governorship, senatorial, House of Representatives and state assembly contests.
Imo State Governor. Hope Uzodimma said the South-East had suffered marginalization, underdevelopment and poverty since the Nigerian Civil War, but argued that the region was now witnessing a different development trajectory under President Bola Tinubu.
He cited improvements in roads, electricity, drinking water and education, and said increased federal allocations had enabled states to fund infrastructure.
In Imo, he pointed to the Okigwe-Owerri, Umuahia-Owerri, Owerri-Orlu and Owerri-Port Harcourt roads.
“We have reviewed the performance of President Bola Tinubu at our leadership level,” Uzodimma said.
“We concluded that there is a new Nigeria, and that new Nigeria is working”, Uzodimma stated.
Enugu State Governor, Peter Mbah described the First Lady’s visit as a homecoming and said the program was designed to help women become independent wealth creators.
“We don’t want to be giving you fish all the time; we want you to be fishers as well,” he said.
Mbah said more than 2,000 women had been empowered in Enugu within the preceding 48 hours as part of the broader Southeast initiative.
He cited the state’s Smart Green Schools and Type-2 primary health care centers as examples of investments supported by increased resources.
“A good captain does not abandon his ship mid-sea because of challenges,” he said.
“So we must finish the journey we all started together,” Mbah added.
Ebonyi State Governor Francis Nwifuru and Anambra State Governor Chukwuma Soludo, represented by Deputy Governor Onyekachukwu Ibezim, also endorsed the administration and urged South-East residents to back Tinubu’s second-term bid.
Speaking, Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives Benjamin Kalu praised the President for establishing the South East Development Commission (SEDC), calling it evidence of an inclusive approach to the Igbo.
He rejected proposals for a single four-year presidential term for the region, saying the South-East would seek a full eight-year tenure when it eventually produces a Nigerian president.
Wife of the Enugu State Governor Nkechinyere Mbah, speaking for the wives of South-East Governors, commended the First Lady for prioritizing women’s economic empowerment and urged beneficiaries to use the equipment productively.
The event drew political leaders, government officials, APC stakeholders and thousands of women from Enugu, Abia, Anambra, Ebonyi and Imo states.
