Gov. Umo Eno Applauds Sen. Oluremi Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Initiative Impact
Akwa Ibom State Governor, Pastor Umo Eno, has lauded the First Lady of Nigeria and National Chairman of the Renewed Hope Initiative, Senator Oluremi Tinubu, over the strides and impact recorded by her organisation.
Governor Eno gave the commendation at the launch of the Renewed Hope Initiative Women Agriculture Support Programme for the South-South geo-political zone of Nigeria, which took place at the Government House Banquet Hall, Uyo.
He noted with delight the inclusion of a support programme for those with special needs, adding, “I understand that during this event, about a hundred persons living with special needs will receive financial empowerment through the Renewed Hope Initiative Business Recapitalization Grant.
“Let me specifically commend Her Excellency, the First Lady, for the humanitarian disposition of the Renewed Hope Initiative.
“Through this programme, vulnerable groups all over the nation have been given financial empowerment. I recall how impressed we were when she came here to empower 250 elders with N100,000 each, and we told her we would support and adopt that initiative by launching the Arise Initiative for the Elders, which is now in operation.
Related: A’Ibom Senior Citizens Share In Renewed Hope Elderly Support Scheme
“Every month, elders, especially the vulnerable ones, from the 369 wards in all the local government areas in the state are given N50,000 each to take care of their needs, especially food and medicine.
“Today, we are gathered here again to launch this great initiative for the South-South region. As our nation grapples with this challenging economic environment that has led to high prices of food items, this programme will help support our farming populations to ensure that we get back to the farm,” he said.
The Governor maintained that though the state has temporarily done something about the food price hike situation through the food voucher programme from the Bulk Purchase Agency, the solution is for everyone to return to the farm, adding that the state has declared every first and third Friday of the month as work-free farm days to encourage people to return to the farm.
He noted that the appeal for everyone to return to the farm is to ensure food security, stressing that a nation that cannot feed itself is in grave danger.
Governor Eno, who is renowned for his compassionate and humanitarian disposition, said, “We have also taken a serious interest in people living with disabilities. One of the very first appointments I made was that of an assistant to the governor on students living with disabilities, as well as another with other people with special needs.
“We have gone ahead to institute a N100 million grant for students living with disabilities. So far, we have paid N250,000 and N350,000, respectively, to undergraduate and postgraduate students living with special needs.
“We will continue to work with them. Last week, right in this hall, we presented a cheque for N1.5 million to a man with special needs who attended our entrepreneurial accelerator program. He makes shoes, and he gifted me a pair of shoes. But that training was for nine weeks, and I was emotional when I saw that the man, for nine weeks, attended that training. I was thrilled.
Read Also: Gov Eno Felicitates Wife At 57, Pledges Support For Pet Project, GIFA
“I have since directed the Honourable Commissioner for Health to make sure he gets him a proper means of movement, and I have also directed my Special Assistant on Humanitarian Services to make sure he locates and furnishes his factory with necessary industrial machines.
“These are part of the programmes we believe can get to the grassroots and touch our people, people that we so often forget and only remember during elections. This time, we have made it a priority that we bring them forth,” he added.
Inaugurating the RHI Women Agricultural Support Programme, Senator Oluremi Tinubu, who was represented by the wife of the Vice President, Hajia Nana Shettima, disclosed that the programme, which has also been held in other geopolitical zones in the country, aims at empowering 20 women each from the six states in the south-south region with a sum of N500,000 per beneficiary.
She explained that 75 percent of the beneficiaries of the scheme are young females who are mainly in agriculture.
She said, “Today, we are supporting twenty (20) women farmers per state in the South-South Zone with the sum of N500,000 each. To this end, a draft of Ten Million Naira (N10,000,000) per state will be handed over to the First Ladies of Akwa Ibom, Bayelsa, Cross River, Delta, Edo, and Rivers States, who are also RHI State Coordinators for onward disbursement to all beneficiaries in their respective states.”
She noted that the farmers are those in the agrarian sector, animal husbandry, poultry, and fish farming, adding that RHI will be collaborating with the Federal Ministry of Agriculture to empower other potential farmers.
The First Lady further announced that 100 people with disabilities who are in small-scale businesses would each receive the sum of N100,000 to boost their businesses.
Earlier, the Akwa Ibom State First Lady, Pastor (Mrs.) Patience Umo Eno, noted that women in agriculture often face numerous challenges, including access to finance and availability of land, and appreciated the wife of the President for providing the women with an opportunity to contribute meaningfully to the socio-economic development of the nation.
While acknowledging that financial support for women in farming will go a long way towards supporting the women, she urged them to make judicious use of financial support for their own good, the state and the country at large.
