FG, RHI inaugurate SDG women empowerment programme

By Celine-Damilola Oyewole

 The Federal Government in partnership with the First Lady, Sen. Oluremi Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Initiative (RHI), on Friday inaugurated the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) Women Empowerment Programme to help women nationwide.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the SDGs empowerment programme is for 18,500 women beneficiaries in all six geopolitical zones of the country.

Mrs Tinubu who is the National Coordinator of RHI said during the inaugural eremony at the State House in Abuja that the programme was made possible through the Office of the Senior Special Assistant to the President on SDGs, Mrs Adejoke Orelope-Adefulire,

She said the programme which started with 500 items for 500 beneficiaries from each state in the North Central Zone, namely: Benue, Kogi, Kwara, Nasarawa, Niger, Plateau, and the FCT, is geared towards helping the women to expand their already existing businesses in order to take their families out of poverty.

“The North Central zone is the first to benefit from this programme, and the women in the zone will today be given items such as deep-chest freezers, gas cookers with ovens, generators, and industrial grinding machines to start or grow their existing businesses.

“The items being distributed today are to equip our women with the necessary tools and resources they need to build successful businesses and to contribute to the prosperity of our great nation.

“Recognising the critical role women play in nation-building, this programme also aligns with the Renewed Hope Agenda of President Bola Tinubu, which prioritises inclusivity, economic growth, and sustainable development for all Nigerians, particularly women.”

According to Mrs Tinubu, the items will be distributed by the RHI State Coordinators in the North Central Zone with the states in the South-South Zone being the next set of beneficiaries.

The programme is expected to be taken to other geopolitical zones.

She encouraged the beneficiaries to make judicious use of the resources made available to them to start or grow their businesses as the case may apply.

“Let these items serve as a foundation for creating better lives for yourselves and your families.

“I hope and pray that what you receive today will prosper in your hands,” the first lady said.

Earlier, Orelope-Adefulire had described the empowerment programme as central to achieving all the SDGs objectives, especially SDG-5 which focuses on “achieving gender equality and empowering all women and girls” and SDG-8 which seeks to create “decent work and economic growth” for women and girls.

“These are all relevant to what we are doing here today.

“The Renewed Hope Agenda of President Tinubu’s administration is aligned with our national development and SDGs with the unwavering commitment of our president that no woman should be left behind.

“When a woman is empowered, the community is strengthened so also the nation,” she said.

Speaking during the inaugural ceremony also, the Minister of Women Affairs, Hajiya Imaan Sulaiman-Ibrahim said such empowerment programme would help give the nation’s economy a boost.

She, therefore, advised the women to keep supporting one another instead of finding faults amongst themselves. (NAN)