Senator Oluremi Tinubu commemorates RHI milestone by reaching out to 27,000 residents in the Federal Capital Territory

On Tuesday, in Abuja, the First Lady, Mrs Oluremi Tinubu, encouraged girls and young women across the nation to persist in their dreams, emphasizing that a lack of personal vision is a significant obstacle to achieving success, as at least 27,345 residents of the Federal Capital Territory benefited from her Renewed Hope Initiative.

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The initiative, which marked three years of operations in the FCT, was commemorated with a gathering tagged ‘Our Stories, Her Impact,’ convened by the office of the First Lady in conjunction with the Federal Capital Territory Administration and the Abuja Initiative 2027.

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Delivering the keynote at the State House Conference Centre, Abuja, Mrs Tinubu stressed that having a vision is essential for the modern woman, stating that dreaming is what drives individuals to move forward, and without it, life becomes challenging.

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She also discussed the Dream Girls initiative, which aims to help girls develop confidence, ambition, and character from a young age, and advised them to acquire soft skills that are often crucial in public and professional life, such as etiquette and protocol.

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Mrs Tinubu reflected on the initiative's journey, which began with its inaugural meeting at the State House on July 7, 2023, and its first field intervention on July 13, 2023, providing support to victims of the Trademoore Estate flood disaster in Lugbe, Abuja, and was formally registered on August 9, 2023.

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The initiative was established as a complementary vehicle for President Bola Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda, focusing on people-centred interventions in communities that have not been fully captured by formal government programmes, with the theme ‘Our Stories, Her Impact’ capturing the significance of the event.

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At the heart of every intervention, Mrs Tinubu noted, is an individual whose life has been touched, a family that has found support, or a community that has been empowered, and over the past three years, the initiative has extended support to various groups, including women, youth, children, and persons with disabilities.

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The support has been provided through farmers’ grants, skills acquisition, scholarships, educational materials, health interventions, and emergency assistance to conflict and disaster-affected communities, with the testimonies from the Federal Capital Territory representing a fraction of the work done across the nation.

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Mrs Tinubu expressed gratitude to state first ladies, RHI coordinators, donors, partners, and community leaders for sustaining the initiative, and particularly thanked the FCT Minister, Nyesom Wike, for backing its programmes, as well as the immediate past FCT RHI Coordinator, Dr Adedayo Benjamins-Laniyi.

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To the beneficiaries of the initiative, she stated that their courage, determination, and success stories are inspiring, and encouraged them to help others in need, creating opportunities that promote peace, progress, and prosperity for the nation.

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Presenting the FCT impact report, Mandate Secretary, FCTA Women Affairs Secretariat, Mrs Benjamins-Laniyi, said the 27,345 beneficiaries were reached through five strategic pillars and over 15 major interventions, with 3,307 children, 4,427 persons, 4,866 beneficiaries, 970 persons with disabilities, 4,423 beneficiaries, and 550 elderly persons benefiting from the programme.

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The economic empowerment pillar, she explained, aims to support self-reliance, while the food security and agriculture arm is intended to improve household productivity and resilience at the community level, and the RHI remains committed to expanding its reach and deepening its interventions in the FCT.

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The Minister of Women Affairs and Social Development, Imaan Suleiman-Ibrahim, noted that the initiative has succeeded in placing traditional institutions at the centre of delivery, with measurable child protection gains in FCT communities linked to the initiative’s advocacy work, such as fewer cases of child marriage and more girls completing secondary school.

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The Minister of State for the FCT, Mariya Mahmud, described the First Lady as a leader who has demonstrated her commitment to the initiative, and noted that providing financial support to women is generating economic multiplier effects beyond the immediate grant, enabling them to become agro-entrepreneurs.

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The President of the Defence and Police Officers’ Wives Association, Mrs Mernan Oluyede, argued that the true measure of the initiative’s impact lies not in its statistics but in the individual stories behind them, such as widows rebuilding their lives, a student completing a degree, or a veteran finding renewed purpose.