Nigeria’s First Lady, Senator Oluremi Tinubu, has empowered 9,500 persons living with disabilities across the country with a business recapitalisation grant of N200,000 each, totalling N1.9 billion.
The intervention, implemented through the Renewed Hope Initiative (RHI), was unveiled yesterday in Abuja as part of activities marking the 2025 International Day of Persons with Disabilities. A separate support package was also extended to 250 military and police veterans living with disabilities to bolster their small-scale enterprises.
Mrs Tinubu, who noted that national development was strengthened when every citizen was enabled to contribute meaningfully, said the programme aligned with President Bola Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda.
Quoting Helen Keller, she said: “Alone we can do so little; together we can do so much,” adding that inclusivity and collective responsibility remained central to the RHI’s mandate.
According to her, 250 persons with disabilities in each state and the FCT are benefitting from the N200,000 grants, while all states, the FCT, and the Defence and Police Officers Wives Association (DEPOWA) received N50 million each for onward distribution.
“In total, 9,500 beneficiaries are receiving N1.9 billion,” she said, adding that the RHI had, in two years, supported more than 100,000 women and small business owners nationwide.
In her remarks, Mrs Mernan Oluyede, wife of the Chief of Defence Staff and President of DEPOWA, commended the First Lady’s “unwavering compassion,” noting that persons with disabilities—who constitute 16 per cent of the global population—still faced barriers in healthcare, education, employment, and social inclusion.
She said Mrs Tinubu’s leadership in health, education, agriculture, and social investment continued to uplift disadvantaged households across the country.
Beneficiaries, including retired Master Warrant Officer Patrick Ocheje and Inspector Adamu Yahaya, expressed gratitude, describing the support as a lifeline and a reminder that “there is ability in disability.”
The 2025 International Day of Persons with Disabilities is themed “Fostering Disability-Inclusive Societies for Advancing Social Progress.”
