Nigeria’s First Lady, Senator Oluremi Tinubu, on Wednesday received the Russian Chapter of the BRICS Women’s Business Alliance at the State House in Abuja, assuring the delegation of her office’s continued advocacy for women’s empowerment and entrepreneurship.
This was made known by Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Bianca Odumegwu-Ojukwu, on her official X handle.
The delegation was led by the Chairperson of the Alliance, Anna Nesterova, and included senior executives and academics who expressed readiness to collaborate with Nigeria across sectors such as pharmaceuticals, film co-production, labour mobility, financial literacy, and AI-driven healthcare.
Welcoming the team, Sen. Tinubu highlighted her humanitarian work through the Renewed Hope Initiative while clarifying that ministries, departments, and agencies (MDAs) remain the primary drivers of government policy and economic programmes.
“My office will continue to provide advocacy and encouragement, but the ministries have the statutory responsibilities and budgets to support your mission. I do a lot of programmes through my foundation, but when it comes to women’s empowerment and entrepreneurship, the ministries are the right partners. My role is to complement, advise, and facilitate,” she explained.
In her remarks, Nesterova praised the First Lady as “an incredible woman who not only changes lives for the better but also paves the way for a prosperous future for the Nigerian people.”
She announced plans by the Alliance to establish a regional office in Nigeria to serve as a gateway for women entrepreneurs into international markets.